The Dragon and the Elvish Princess
by BluePokeSoulRanger
Summary: Vanya, a banished Elvish princess, flees South while pursued by a Gundabad Orc pack. In order to escape, she despearately flees to the Withered Heath that is home to the Dragons. There she meets Smaug, a great Fire Drake and one of the last of his mighty and terrifying race. Together, they learn much about each other as they face terrible foes, but can their new bond stay strong?
1. Prologue

Prologue

In the lands of Middle-Earth, there are many different Races: Men, Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, Orcs, the Ishtari or Wizards by the tongue of Men, Hobbits, Ents, and the most feared of all…..Dragons. Most were called Worms, Serpents or Drakes by the Peoples of Middle-Earth throughout the first three ages. They were also known to be some of the most deadly servants of the original Dark Lord: Morgoth. While most were unnamed and unknown, there were few who were the most notorious of their race. The first to be seen in the First Age was Glaurung the Golden, the Father of all Dragons. Also in the First Age was the most feared and greatest of flying Dragons: Ancalagon the Black. This great beast was known as the largest of the Fire-Drakes and Morgoth's deadliest servant. However, after his passing in the First Age, came several other Dragons each one different but fierce. After Ancalagon and Glaurung, there were other known Dragons like the Fire-Drake of Gondolin from the First Age and Scala the Cold-Drake of the Third Age. But…there was one Fire-Drake whom, through his actions, became the most infamous of the Third Age.

This is the story of the last great Fire-Drake of the Third Age who lived within the mountains of the North. He had many titles to his name, but his most common was the Golden….Smaug the Golden. As he grew over the years, he had developed a few battle scars but overcame many battles as he aged. Now, the great Fire-Drake was old but incredibly strong, becoming nearly invincible to all adversaries. Because of this, he earned the highest and grandest mountain within the Withered Heath of the Northern Mountains. The peak itself raised high above all others, reaching even above the mist that veiled them and the valley below. All other Dragons knew to avoid it or dare to incur Smaug's wrath for the sake of their own lives. However, one day in the early Spring in TA 2700, he encountered something that would change his life forever.

Vanya, an exiled Elvish Princess, stumbles upon his mountain after a long and terrible pursuit from a horde of Orcs. It is within Smaug's mountain that the two develop the most unusual of friendships in all Middle Earth. Together, they discover what they have in common with one another as they battle Orcs and other dragons. (Unbeknownst to them, their bond would soon set off events which would soon result in the battle for the fate of all Middle Earth.)

This is their story…..


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

The Withered Heath was a desolate section of the Northern Mountains in Middle Earth and home of Dragons. But, there was one among their race who was the greatest winged Fire-Drake in the Third Age. Born with dark golden-red scales and burning golden eyes, he was also considered the most magnificent. He was called Smaug the Golden, though that was one of many titles he possessed during his life. Fierce and strong, he was virtually invulnerable and had defeated many foes yet retained some battle scars. Despite this, however, he proved to be the greatest Dragon of the age and earned the right to live atop the highest peak. While he did not accumulate vast amounts of treasure, he fiercely protected his home for many years. Never did he suspect that he would be soon sharing his mountain with another until one fateful day.

It was early one Spring morning in the year 2700 of Middle Earth's Third Age, and the mountains were calm and cool. Deep within his mountain Smaug was coiled up and resting peacefully in his sleeping cavern. It was quiet and empty with no other living soul living within, which was how Smaug liked his cave. There was little within, and the walls and ceilings were lined with several stalactites and stalagmites. There was a strong scent from the dragon that filled the chamber as well as the scents of the cave rocks. Those were the smells that Smaug was used to as he lived within his mountain and around the Withered Heath. It wasn't until a strange, new scent came in on the wind and reached his nostrils that woke him from his slumber. He opened his eyes and slowly raised his head with his long strong neck and faced the cave entrance. He gave the air a few sniffs when he finally caught the scent clear as day but found it very different. 'Hmm, what is that I smell? It smells like that of Elf but there are no Elves around these parts. But, it also has the scent of something like a Dragon, so what is it?'

So, he rose up his massive body and walked down the tunnel towards the entrance. He maneuvered his body around with his strong hind legs and winged forelimbs in search of the scent's source. He followed the scent for a few minutes through the tunnel where he arrived at the cave entrance. However, what he discovered took him by genuine surprise for the first time in his long life. It was a young Elvish woman, clad in red unconscious on the ground of the cave entrance. She had long, deep-red hair and wore a red dress top, brownish-red pants, long black sleeve-like arm wraps, and black boots. Smaug looked down at her quite curiously as he lowered his head so he could get a better view. Normally, an opportunity to feed like this would be something that he couldn't resist even if it was Elf. However, there was something about her that that intrigued him and he couldn't bring himself to kill her.

'This She-Elf…what is it about her? I should just destroy her right now for intruding on my domain, yet I find myself unable to. I suppose for the time being I should bring her in and keep her safe should the other Dragons catch her scent. It will, at least, give me time to discover all the secrets behind her before I choose to secure her fate.' So, he scooped up the Elvish woman carefully in his right winged claw and gently placed her on his back. Once he knew that she was secure, he took a look around and sniffed the air for any other Dragon scents. Smaug wanted to be sure that none of the others would catch her scent and dare to enter his mountain. There were no other scents which he was glad of, so he turned and reentered the cave with his 'guest'.

It was a few hours later when the She-Elf finally awoke, rubbing the left side of her head moaning in pain. She opened her eyes and looked around realizing that she was no longer outside on the ground. Instead, she was resting on soft, straw-like material with a small campfire burning beside her. The young woman realized that it was her only source of light within the dark, ominous chamber. "Wh-Where am I, and how did I end up in this dark and strange cave," she asked herself as she laid on her makeshift bed. After a few minutes of looking about, she attempted to stand but was unable to due to sharp pain in her legs. "Ahh, my legs," she cried out wincing from the pain and was unable to move momentarily which worried her. She had no idea what may have been in the cave with her but soon got her answer through the dark. She heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching her and as best she could, she could not see what it was. "Who-Who's there? Show yourself!" There was a moment of silence and the heavy footsteps stopped before she finally got a response. It was a deep, sophisticated sounding voice, but she also heard growling making her feel that it wasn't human.

"Do you think it wise to command me to come out from the shadows? To ask me to reveal myself without revealing who you are and what you are doing here in MY domain? How very rude of you….and after I took the time to make for you that bed which you now lie in, too."

The young She-Elf looked around looking for the source of the voice, yet in the darkness she was unable to. "I-I do appreciate that you were kind enough to make something as soft as this for me when you didn't need to. I thank you greatly for this kindness, so I will only reveal who I am if you come out from the shadows. Please, come out and tell me who you are and I promise that I will tell you my name and my reason for coming here. Would that please you?" At that moment, she heard a sinister chuckle emanating from the shadows. She knew it came from who or what she was speaking with, which had her on the defensive.

"There is something about you…..something that I find quite interesting. Very well, I shall show myself but you will soon understand what you are asking for might not be to your liking."

"I shall not be afraid, for I wish to see who resides within here and who also had come to my aid."

Smaug chuckled again with a sneer as he watched her from just outside the fire's glow hiding in the shadows. "We shall see," he replied with a hiss as he took a few steps forward revealing himself in the firelight.

The Elvish woman gasped in shock unprepared to see a large dragon emerge from the shadows. But, she saw that he was intelligent and no in hunting mode which gave her some comfort for the time being. "I-I had no idea that you were a dragon," was all that she could utter to him as she sat in his presence.

"Are you really that surprised? Did you not think that you now lie within a Dragon's cave here in the Withered Heath?" Smaug then chuckled as he lowered his head down to the Elf's level, his fiery gaze appearing to pierce right through her. "Hmm, I can feel the tension from the air that surrounds you. You are wise to fear me for if you weren't I would take you easily as a young, foolish female Elfling. As for you being thankful for my act of kindness….it is best not to assume that I care for you in any way. Now, you promised that you would reveal who you were if I came out of the shadows. I did as you asked so now it's your turn to hold up your end of the deal. Who are you, where do you come from and why have you come here, may I ask?"

The young Elvish woman felt intimidated by the great dragon's fiery-looking eyes as he looked upon her. But, she shook that feeling off, remembering that she had made a promise to him that she wouldn't go back on her word for. So, she took a deep breath and looked right into the great beast's eyes hoping not to show any fear to him. "My name is Vanya, and exile from the Northwestern part of the world. I cannot reveal the exact location of my home for I promised myself that I wouldn't do so. However, I would like to ask who you would be if you don't mind."

"I am called Smaug the Golden," the Fire-Drake replied with a low hiss as he rose his mighty head. He still stared down at her as he tucked in his large winged forelimbs tight against his massive body. He also tucked in his hind legs underneath him, coiling his tail around himself and Vanya making himself comfortable.

"Would it alright to ask why they call you 'The Golden'," Vanya asked him as she tried to sit upright. But as she went to tuck in her legs a sharp pain shot through her body causing her to wince. She squeezed her eyes shut, sitting motionless for a moment, waiting for the pain to subside. Once it did, she sighed with relief and opened her eyes again, looking up when she heard Smaug chuckle.

"I suggest that you don't move around so much while you are trying to rest your legs and body. For as strong as you Elves claim to be, you will do yourself no good by forcing yourself to move when you are unable to. As for my title, it was given to me by the Father of all Dragons, though I have no doubts you would know his name. His name was Glaurung the Golden, the first of my kind to be seen by Men, Elves and Dwarves. But, as you probably know, that was many years ago when he reigned until that day he was slain."

Vanya thought deeply about it and immediately it clicked with her. "Yes, I do remember hearing of Glaurung. Did you ever miss him?"

"I feel no sympathy for any creature let alone him," Smaug replied with a snort, glaring somewhat down at her. "I have never known him nor have I never missed him, just like how I've never known my mother."

"Oh dear, that seems awful how you've never known your parents. You have my most humble and deepest of apologies."

"You have nice manners for a She-Elf but you need not trouble yourself for such pettiness. But let's not dwell on such a pathetic topic." His gaze softened as he lowered his head once again to face the Elf face-to-face. "You say that you are an exile from the Elves of the North. Now, do tell me why how that came to be." At this point, his intrigue and curiosity for the She-Elf increased as a smirk spread across his face.

Vanya grew a bit more fearful from not only the dragon's curiosity but by the way he smirked at her. She felt like she was at the mercy of one who could kill or even devour her with little to no effort. But, there was something from gazing into Smaug's fiery eyes that compelled her to share her story. "What had happened to me is a long and in some ways complicated story," she began telling. "I was a princess of my people who was respected and beloved by everyone in our ancient, yet hidden realm. We were all skilled warriors with the blade and the bow while our aim rarely misses its target. For me personally, I chose the sword to wield in battle due to my bravery and swift movements. My father told me that I had the best swordsmanship of all the Elves in our realm, which made him truly proud. Those were indeed the better days of my life….that is, until that horrible day."

"Go on."

"Well, you see….what happened was," Vanya suddenly gasped as she noticed that the fire was going out.

Smaug noticed this as well and he turned his neck so his head was over the fire pit and its diminishing flames. "Here, I shall take care of that." As he spoke, his chest began to glow brightly that travelled through his long neck. He was about to breathe his intense flames when he saw Vanya's hand left hand held out to stop him.

"Wait," she told him hesitantly as she stared at the failing light of the fire. The brightness of Smaug's inner furnace illuminated the fire pit just enough for her to see it clearly. "Leave the pit's relighting to me." She swallowed hard and had a look of nervousness come over her at that exact moment.

Smaug watched her silently with both curiosity and suspicion as he kept his inner furnace burning. He couldn't help but wonder what the young She-Elf was going to do if she could do anything at all. At the same time, he felt a bit insulted and angry that she had dared to tell him to stop but chose to suppress his anger. 'What could she possibly be up to that would demand me to hold back my flames,' he asked himself.

Vanya took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and held out her right hand out to the fire. When she exhaled she opened her eyes that transformed into dragon-like eyes and focused on the pit. As she concentrated, the failing flame began to grow and regain its strength slowly before her eyes. To help it grow, she moved her left hand over to face the flames in order to help her maintain control. Then, the flames shot up about a foot from just above the pit then lowered itself back down to normal level. Once it was fully relit, Vanya lowered her hand sighing heavily and she closed her eyes again. When she opened them, they were back to their normal green hue but now weariness was seen within them.

Smaug couldn't believe his eyes as he watched her bring the fire in the pit back to life. 'This is completely unheard of,' he thought, 'that an Elf can possess such a magic.' He raised his head back up and diminished his inner furnace before turning to face her again. "Impressive. How is it that a She-Elf is able to use such a strange power? Tell me, how did you learn how to conjure the flames like that as if you were a Drake such as myself?"

"It was something that I was about to tell you," Vanya replied to him feeling herself become fatigued. "However, it is a long story and I do not think that you would care to hear the whole of it in its entirety."

"You have caught my curiosity and you did promise that you would explain yourself," the great dragon replied. "So, do tell me what had transpired that you would find yourself here upon my mountain."

"Alright, as you so wish it." She felt slightly more exhausted than before from relighting the flame in the fire pit but not by much. She looked back up at the great dragon, once again feel the desire to tell him the whole truth. "It all began on that awful day that had changed my life forever," she began again. "It was about 3 years ago on a beautiful Autumn morning. I was out in the East of my realm preparing myself for my important ceremony that would proclaim me the new Lady of the Realm. I was with 5 of my father's greatest bodyguards when we came upon a large, open field with a golden hue. The six of us were going to hone our fighting skills against one another just as we have always done. Suddenly…..IT came.

"Out of nowhere, a large, fearsome dragon black as night with blood-red eyes descended upon us. We scattered trying to avoid the creature's deadly fire and did our best to fight the beast back. Three of the guards pulled out their bows and shot arrow upon arrow at it hoping it would fall. But, it did not work as the dragon's hide proved too tough and his speed proved faster than the archers. With each round, the beast came closer and closer, scorching my father's archers one by one. As it did so, the flames also set the field ablaze, turning it into a deadly inferno as if to trap us within it. The remaining guards and I quickly regrouped and realized that we were no match against the beast. In order to protect me, the guards sent me down on the only clear path through the inferno to safety. They did their best to distract the dragon and keep me safe from its wrath, resulting in their terrible demise. I turned and stood in shock as I witnessed my father's guards…my people…die right in front of me. I was unable to move and in that moment I was face to face with the vicious creature who had killed them. Every part of me told me to flee from that area, yet my body would refuse to move from that one spot. I could only stand there, eyes shut tight and bracing myself for the beast to reign his flames upon me to end my life. I was sure that was going to be the day I drew my last breath, brought down by the beast. But I was wrong.

"Somehow, I found myself alive and well from the attack by that fearsome dragon whose fire did not burn me. I could not explain as to how I survived but I thanked the Valar for making that beast flee and protecting my life. The dark beast, now vanished from sight and his flames finally diminished, did not destroy me. Not even weakness or pain consumed me from its attack, but what was left was pure sorrow. Five of my father's best guards were gone, destroyed by the great winged beast….right before my eyes. I knew then that I had to return home and report this grave news to him and to our people. So, with that decided, I hurried back home and it wasn't long before I returned and saw everyone greeting me. The whole realm were standing on both sides of the floor in the house, smiling at me. Standing tall in the back was my father, smiling down upon me with his 20 guards split evenly on both sides of him. Yet, no joy was seen on my face nor any words of happiness escaped my lips. Summoning all of my courage, I walked down past our people until I was face-to-face with him. 'Dear father, I return with much saddening news,' I told him letting worry show both on my face and in my voice. At that moment, I knelt down before him feeling great distraught and sorrow filling up my body.

"'What sad news do you bring,' he asked me with great concern in his voice as he rested his hands on my shoulders.

"'I'm sorry to report that the five guards you have assigned to me today have been….killed.' I had a hard time speaking that word as I knew how much he cared about his faithful guards greatly. Knowing that some of them have been killed, I was sure that it was hard for him to take the news. I saw in my father's eyes that he could not believe the news and as I looked around, neither could our people. But, instead of falling into sadness and despair, he kept up his noble and calm demeanor. Not even his voice faltered even though I knew that he was just as distraught as I had become. But, I knew that he was not as shaken up as I was since I was there to witness their horrible and terrifying demise.

"'How was that possible, daughter? What could have killed them?'

"I stood straight and tall still feeling his hands gently on my shoulders and I looked into his eyes. 'They were killed by a…..dragon. It came down from the South and attacked us from high above. The guards and I all fought bravely while they tried to protect me, but it was too powerful and its fire was too deadly. After it finally fled ending its attack, I found myself to be the only survivor of the creature's merciless onslaught. I do not know how or why I survived since the dragon shot its flames down upon me as well.' Soon, I felt my father embracing me close to him and I could hear a sigh of relief coming from him. It was enough for me to begin weeping upon his breast while I embraced him clutching his back tightly.

"'I am deeply saddened for the loss of those 5 brave and loyal guards as well,' he told me gently. 'Yet, my sorrow would have been more unbearable if I were to lose my daughter and only heir as well. I am grateful that the Valar watched over you and spared you of the dragon's wrath, my dear Vanya.' He held me in his arms for a few moments but I embraced him back, still grateful to be alive. There was also a long and somber moment of silence from everyone in the house in order to respect our fallen. Indeed, what started out as a truly happy day for our whole realm became one of sadness and deepening darkness. A darkness which had only started and would only continue to grow for me in the following days."


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Smaug laid there on the stone floor, listening closely to Vanya as she told her story about her past. The one part that intrigued him the most from her story was her encounter with a dragon and surviving. "Interesting. I am quite curious as to how you were able to survive the wrath of a dragon's fire. If it had the power and the intensity to destroy your guards, then why wasn't it able to destroy you? It does not make much sense to me as a dragon's flames are known to melt anything that it touches."

Vanya looked down into the flame as if she was in a kind of trance with confusion and worry. "I wish that I knew, to tell you the truth. But, whether I knew how I did or not….it wouldn't have mattered. Not after what had happened shortly after that terrible day." The whole time she had spoken not once did she lift her head up high to look at Smaug but her voice sounded sad.

Hearing the sad tone in her voice, Smaug soon found himself feeling some small amount of pity for the first time in his life. "What happened after you returned and when did you find yourself in exile?"

The young She-Elf sighed heavily as she continued to stare into the fire visualizing those terrible times. "Well, we had to postpone my ceremony for a week due to my father's sorrow over the loss of his guards. He did not want my biggest day be on the same one as their deaths out of great respect for the dead. As the week passed, I began to feel strange and even more different than I have ever felt before. At the time, I didn't feel like it was something to be concerned with but I ended up realizing how wrong I was. It wasn't until the morning of my ceremony that I truly ended up worrying about it more than I ever have before. My Elvish sight had changed and grown more vivid and stronger than a normal Elf's sight would be. Not only that, but I also noticed that whenever I stared at a flame of any kind it changed somehow. That alone made me increasingly wary that something strange and unnatural was happening to me. However, I decided to not try and dwell on it and focused on my important day as it finally arrived. Throughout the day, things went very smoothly, from demonstrating my swordsmanship to presenting myself regally. It wasn't until the end of the day during the archery demonstration that things began to go wrong. I remember that I had just strung my wooden longbow with the golden trip that my father gave me. The arrow, which shimmered like dazzling silver, was aimed at a large brown ring standing on a golden pedestal. Two tall candles stood on each end of the ring with another one directly behind with gentle fires. As I pulled the bowstring and arrow back, I took a deep breath doing my best to focus on the target. Without realizing it, my eyes began to change and my concentration caused the flames to react. The moment I had released my arrow all 3 of the flames on the candles shot up into the air at the same time. Not only that, but as soon as the arrow went through the ring they all connected above the target becoming an inferno. What also happened was that my eyes, normally green like emeralds, had transformed into that of a dragon's. All of this had surprised me so much that I found myself dropping my bow and passing out on the ground.

"I awoke the next morning in my bed, feeling as though I have returned to my normal self. My nurse was there beside me and told me that my father was conversing with the Elders at that moment. 'What are they discussing,' I asked her. She only looked to me with the most worried of glances. 'It is about what had happened to you, my lady. They fear that you may have been cursed with powerful Dark Magic,' she had eventually answered. 'What? How could they think that,' I asked her now fearful of what might happen. 'Because of what had happened to you the week before that they feel was something evil.' About 5 minutes later, my father entered the room and motioned my nurse to leave the room. After she left, he walked over and sat down at the end of my bed looking down at the floor. He sighed so heavily that I knew that what he was about to tell me was going to be bad news. 'My dear daughter, I'm afraid that the Elders and I have come to a terrible decision,' he told me. 'One that even I feel so ashamed to agree to.' At that moment, he looked up at me with both sadness and regret showing in his sky-blue eyes. 'What are you talking about, father' I have asked him desperate to get some answers until I thought up a possible one. 'You do not believe that I am cursed or something, do you? Is that what the Elders are thinking of me? Please tell me that you do not think or believe something like that!' As I pleaded to him, I reached out and grabbed onto his left hand in desperation.

"My father sighed heavily again moving his hand out of mine and stood up facing me sadly. 'My dearest Vanya, the Elders and I had to discuss this with the greatest care and importance. You must understand that our decision was for the good of our entire realm and the safety of our people. We have decided….that you must be exiled in fear of the Dark Powers discovering our location. I will send someone to help provide you with provisions so you will be ready to leave at first light tomorrow. I am truly sorry that it has come to this, but please know that I shall always love you and that will never change.' My heart sank and I was shook up terribly for my father and the Elders would have say that without reason. I knew that they must have considered me a terrible threat if their only option was to banish me. I was unable to utter anything in response so I could only bow my head in sad agreement while he left the room. Later that night, the shock and sadness continued to plague me and depriving me from sleeping. My people now thought of me as cursed for they believed that the dragon who attacked me was a servant of the Dark Lord. So, with a heavy heart I decided to leave that night instead of waiting for the dawn to approach. I snuck out of my room, packed my blade and my necessary provisions and placed a letter for my father on my bed. Shortly after I left my home, I could start feeling the pain in my heart though I did not look back once. It was only a while later after I started my long and tiring journey that I had decided to travel southwest from home. At that time, I figured that no Man, Dwarf or other Elves would accept me if they had discovered the truth. Not while I felt like I was cursed with some kind of Dark Magic possibly owned by the Dark Lord himself. I was travelling alone throughout the Wild never showing fear, nor did I let any tears fall down my cheeks. A few days later, I found myself starting to adjust and becoming comfortable in my new lifestyle. At night I would make a small fire and practice my new fire wielding ability in order to control it better. This always made me feel weakened a little, but it never really cause me too many problems when I did. Through my travels, I didn't encounter any other Peoples of Middle Earth but always saw or heard animals nearby. At times, it felt that I was really alone in Middle-Earth without any companions to travel alongside me.

"This was how my life was for two and a half years, Smaug until something happened three months ago. I was continuing my way down South making my way through the western side of the North Mountains. Suddenly, I was ambushed by a pack of 20 to 30 Orcs atop fierce Wargs and I was forced to flee for my life. Luckily, my Elvish swiftness helped me keep them at bay but they still pursued me giving me no chance to rest or even eat. They gave me no other choice but to traverse the treacherous section of the North Mountains: The Withered Heath. During that time, it felt like it was my only chance for survival yet I knew that was where Dragons lived. However, I knew that despite that risk it would have been my salvation for escaping that Orc pack. While I travelled through the Withered Heath I found myself at the base of the tallest mountain. Whether or not I knew that it was already inhabited I still climbed my way up to protect myself. During the climb, however, I ended up dropping my sword while halfway up but I dared not climb down. I knew that once I have my relentless pursuers would be down there waiting to attack me once again. So, with that in mind, I kept climbing till I reached the ledge that lead to your cave's entrance. That was when hunger and fatigue finally got the best of me and the rest…you already know. Please forgive me for having such a long story, though I do not know what compelled me to tell you everything."

Smaug listened to the whole story and found himself to be so intrigued by Vanya that her being an elf intruder didn't matter. "It's quite alright. You probably fell under the power of the Dragon Spell. When one gazes into a dragon's eyes they feel strange and can't help but speak whether they wished to or not. So, what of these pursuers of yours who have plagued you so? Where would they be, hmm? I was not able to smell them out there when I had brought you inside."

Vanya looked concerned from this as she knew that her pursuers weren't that far behind her. "That, is truly ill news for I know that they were not that far behind me in their evil pursuit. But, where they are now and why they are after me I do not know. I just can't explain what they could possibly want with me."

"It matters not." Smaug gave her a confident smirk as his eyes began to glow as brightly as the fire that burned in the pit. "Only the biggest fools would dare to enter a dragon's cave whether or not it resided inside at the time. Even if they did, they could not do anything to harm me. No weapon that was ever made by Man, Elf or Dwarf can pierce my armor so I doubt any forged Orc blade can cause harm. Besides my armor, my teeth are as sharp as swords, my claws are deadly spears and my breath means death. So, as long as you remain within my cave you will not be harmed."

The young Elvish princess was surprised by what he told her and it took her a moment to reply. "You mean….you are not going to kill or eat me," she asked feeling a bit relieved as she looked up at him.

The Great Fire Drake looked down at her with a gaze that felt like it was piercing through her. "Do not be so relieved," he told his guest with a brief hiss. "I can choose who I want to kill and when I want to kill them. The fact of the matter is you interest me, which is the only reason I'm keeping you alive for the time being. Also, it is because I do not see you as any sort of threat which you should consider yourself lucky. For now, rest and recover your strength." At that moment, his face softened a bit as did his gaze to give his guest a bit more comfort. "As it is, I do not have any reason to do you harm, so longs as you don't attempt an attack on me."

Vanya was a bit more relieved from those words and couldn't help but let out a warm smile. "I swear to you that I will never try to run away or harm you. You have given me sanctuary after a long and perilous journey. I do not expect you to care for me as a mother would for her child. Once I have my strength back I will go and find my own food and then return back here straight away. For I am still an exile, and I know that no Peoples of Middle Earth will accept me as I am right now. I will be honored to stay here if this pleases you, O Smaug the Golden." As she spoke, she bowed her head down as to show her honorable respect to the Great Fire Drake.

Smaug watched her bow to him and chuckled finding some humor in her nobility and honor. "As I have said earlier, you have nice manners for a She-Elf. However, do not be so formal with me for it is not needed. You may stay here with me as you wish and I will provide you with protection. For now, you shall be my guest though you are the first to be so. But rest now, for I can feel your fatigue from the weariness of the air that surrounds you. Upon the morning I will go in search for sustenance for the both of us as well as any signs of your pursuers. If they dare to enter while I am away, use your power to control flames on the fire to signal me." As he spoke, he moved the back of his tail behind Vanya and coiled the tip close to where she rested her head. "This is the least I can do to help make you feel a bit more comfortable as you sleep."

This sudden act of kindness took the young She-Elf by surprise as she took a quick glance at his curved tail then back at him. "Thank you. You have my deepest gratitude." With that, she slowly moved her legs back out from underneath her while wincing from the pain. As soon as she stretched them out and the pain resided, she was finally able to relax again. She looked back up at the massive dragon wearily as she could feel sleep coming over her. "I feel as if I won't be able to stay awake for much longer."

"That is for the best," Smaug replied as he lowered his head slightly more close to the ground. "Sleep, and I shall be keeping watch even as I rest."

So, with her vigilant guardian promising to keep her safe, Vanya lowered her head onto Smaug's tail. It was a bit rough, but it only took a moment later before she finally fell fast asleep for the night. For the first time in a long time, she finally felt safe and secure without worrying about her pursuers.

Smaug watched her sleeping form and let out a quiet but subtle chuckle from him now having a guest in his cave. Suddenly, a small but warm gust of wind blew into the chamber and reached the dragon's nostrils. He lifted up his head up high and gave it a good sniff for a few seconds to find out what it was. What he got a whiff of suddenly made him tense as his eyes glowed brightly like fire once again. Smaug glared in the direction of his cave's entrance and snorted quietly in annoyance and anger. He knew what the scent was, much to his new guest's horror and that angered him as much as it would trouble her. The Orc pack that has pursued her was finally nearby his mountain, unwilling to give up on their prey. He did not know exactly where they were out there, but to him they weren't so concerning though he knew they were for his guest. But, for the moment he wasn't about to go and confront them that night for invading the Withered Heath. Instead, he was going to wait to see what they were going to do before deciding to end their miserable lives. With that in mind, he lowered his head again down onto the ground and coiled his neck around Vanya. However, as Smaug began to fall asleep he was being sure that he kept all of his senses sharp. It was only a matter of time before they attempted to enter and when they would he would be ready for them. So, throughout the night the Dragon and the Elvish Princess rested peacefully unaware of the true danger waiting for them below.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The vicious Warg-riding Orc pack who had chased after Vanya searched in the valley below Smaug's peak for their prey. But, neither fatigue nor hunger got the better of them as they wandered through the valley of the Withered Heath. It was late at night when they approached the base of the peak, the sky sparkling with stars as if they were diamonds. The Orcs stopped and dismounted their Wargs and began to search the valley floor for any signs of Vanya. There were 25 of them, a small pack but all fierce warriors, and all of them spread out sniffing and prodding the ground. They all varied in size from the size of the average Dwarf to ones as tall as a Man, but all wore dark armor and helmets. One of the Dwarf-sized Orcs searched close to the base of the mountain when he spotted something and called out. The others with their Wargs came over running swiftly over to see what he had found and they were pleased. There, on the ground in front of the Orc, they discovered an Elvish short sword and a pale white satchel. Another one of the Dwarf-sized Orcs picked up the sack but none of them even attempted to touch the sword with their bare hands.

The Orc pack leader, who was taller than the others and very broad, approached it and bent down to give it a sniff. His armor, which was darker than the deepest darkness, covered his body along with razor-sharp spikes on the arms, shoulders and boots. He had a cut on the left side of his face from that of a blade but had piercing yellow eyes and nasty, pointed teeth. He, like all of the other Orcs in his pack, did not dare touch the blade for Orcs find Elvish weapons cursed to them. "The She-Elf has been here," he told his soldiers in Man speech. He then looked around and began sniffing the air for any chance to both catch and trace her scent. "Now, where could she have gotten to now?"

The smaller Orc who discovered the blade looked up at his leader then looked up at Smaug's mountain. "Perhaps she is hiding up there. I will go up there and do a reconnaissance to see if I can locate her up there."

"Aren't these mountains known for being full of the great Drakes of old," another short, stout Orc asked as he approached the leader.

"Yes, and there is no doubt that our quarry has taken it upon herself to hide somewhere amongst them," the leader said. He took a moment to look up the mountain's side before turning to his one subordinate who has volunteered to go up. "I do now know how long she might live if one is inside of the cave she entered, but we shall soon find out. You shall wait until whatever lives in that cave, dragon or otherwise, leaves then go check its mountain. If she is not up there we shall check another mountain."

"But, what if our little Elf is inside this one," the volunteer asked his leader.

"Then you capture her and bring her to me alive," his leader told him with a smirk. "If she resists you can rough her up but do not maim her." He then turned to the rest of his pack while approaching his large, silver coated Warg and mounted. "First things first, we must get into some mud so that we may hide our scents from the beasts who live here. At dawn, our little scout shall climb up and check out this mountain for any signs of our little friend. Now, let us find a place we can use for cover before we set our plan into action. But, before we do," he turned to his scout and pointed at Vanya's belongings, "you must pick up that cursed sword and satchel. There might be a chance we can use them."

"We cannot touch that blade! It is an Elvish blade, so it will burn us if we even try to place our claws on it," the scout exclaimed.

"Then wrap it up in your cloth before picking it up, you fool," the Orc leader hissed as he glared down at him.

"Yes sir," the scout answered nervously as he took a piece of cloth he carried in his pocket and wrapped the sword tightly. He also used the same cloth to grab the end of the satchel so he did not accidentally grab it with his own bare hands.

After he did his task, he and the rest of the Orcs mounted their Wargs again and rode a couple of leagues through the valley. About 20 leagues away, they stopped when they reached a small, but tall patch of trees beside a large mud puddle. This is where they decided to stay using it as a shelter but decided not to make a fire in fear of giving away their position. They dismounted and both Warg and Orc jumped into the mud puddle to cover their scents from being detected by the dragons. Once they were covered they all settled around each other staying close to their Wargs under the tree patch. It was not a few minutes later when they all decided to rest for the night as they did not sleep since their pursuit began. The Orcs soon fell asleep resting their heads against their own Warg as the beasts themselves fell asleep.

Only the leader of the Orcs stayed awake as he could not sleep knowing that his quarry was nearby at last. He found himself standing in front of the tree patch and his soldiers looking up at Smaug's mountain in the distance. For most of the night, he kept his sights on the massive peak feeling that the She-Elf maiden was somewhere within it. 'It won't be long now,' he thought to himself as he grinned staring at the peak. 'Soon, you shall be mine and my Master will be very pleased that I have completed my task from Him after all this time.' He then let out a soft but wicked chuckle as he stood there as the moonlight above illuminated the mountains and valley.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Smaug awoke at the crack of dawn the next morning as he smelled the morning air without as much as a yawn. He opened his eyes and raised up his massive head with his strong neck and faced the cave entrance. There was no strange sound or scent in his cave except for that of his new sleeping guest beside him. He looked down at Vanya as she lay on her left side using her arms to rest her weary head on as she slept. After watching her sleep for a moment or two, he turned back to face the tunnel that led to his cave's entrance. Smaug sniffed the air but was unable to catch any scents of the Orc pack who have pursued his guest so. This puzzled him as he did not know whether or not they fled the Withered Heath or if they went into hiding. So, he decided then that he would investigate it a while as well as going out to hunt for something to eat for himself and Vanya. He carefully raised his body up, uncoiled his long tail and walked through the tunnel to the entrance. When he arrived, he took a moment to view down into the valley below for any signs of movement. He sniffed the warm morning air for any nasty scents, but he still could not catch the scents of the invaders. 'Where are you, filth,' he thought as he used his amazing sight to scan the valley with an angry snarl. While he could not get their scent, Smaug felt that they were indeed somewhere down in the valley. But at that moment, his hunger grew stronger and he could no longer deny it and knew it was that time for him to hunt. So, raising his mighty wings, he prepared himself for takeoff and flapped them hard causing what felt like a tempest as he went airborne. He flew off toward the East through the Withered Heath, a fearsome yet magnificent sight, in his search for food. As he flew, he was sure to keep an eye on the ground for any signs or scents of the elusive Orc pack.

Back in the sleeping chamber, it was an hour later after Smaug left to hunt when Vanya at last awoken. She sat up, stretched out her arms and opened her eyes with a soft yawn being careful about her legs as she moved. "Good morning Smaug," she said before realizing that she did not receive a response for her greeting. She looked around curiously and saw that the Great Fire Drake was nowhere to be seen so she decided to call out again. "O Smaug the Golden, where are you?" But, again she did not receive a response and it was at that moment that she remembered what Smaug told her during the night.

'Upon the morning I will go out in search for sustenance for us.'

Vanya chuckled softly to herself and shook her head as smiled remembering what he had told her. "Silly," she said quietly to herself, "of course he's not here now. He must have left earlier while I was still sleeping. I hope that he returns soon, but in the meantime," she then glanced over at the glowing fire pit's flame. She saw that it still burned just as brightly as it did when she was speaking with Smaug during the night. This gave Vanya an idea in that very moment while she was still staring into the flames as if she was hypnotized. "I know. I can practice my fire-wielding powers so that way, they will be better controlled and even stronger. While I'm doing so, maybe I can create a signal for Smaug to see in case I find myself in serious trouble. Perhaps something like a dragon-shaped fireball just large enough to be spotted even at great distances." So, with that plan all set up in her mind, she slowly sat herself up being careful with her legs so the pain wasn't so intense. To her surprise and relief, Vanya found that the pain in her legs was much weaker than it was the day before. She figured that after finally being able to rest up from the evil pursuit of the Orcs, her legs were getting stronger.

She sat herself up straight and tall, carefully folding in her legs and closed her eyes while taking a deep breath. A moment later, she opened her eyes again as they changed into Dragon eyes and prepared herself. Once she knew that she was ready, Vanya held out her hands towards the fire and concentrated on commanding the flames. She was pleased as each movement of her hands made the fire move in that same direction no matter which way. It was working well to her pleasant surprise, as her strength returned slowly helping her control the fire. After a few minutes into the training, she shifted the fire around to the point where it began to change its form. Vanya was elated knowing that she wasn't just able to control the flames, but she could also make it shapeshift. Making progress, she continued practicing for over an hour until at last she felt that she was ready to create a signal for Smaug. Vanya knew that it had to be something large and bright enough that he could see even at very great distances. Remembering that he is a Dragon himself, she soon came up with a brilliant idea for what she can do for the signal. Vanya gracefully moved her hands from left to right to left again, almost as if she was waving them in a dance. As she did, the flames shifted and morphed until it started to take shape starting with the head followed by the torso. It took her about five minutes before her new signal was at last completed and she looked upon what she created in awe. Her signal was in the form of a large, winged dragon raising its wings high and its tailed coiled underneath. She chuckled to herself, elated that the signal she created appeared looked like Smaug himself only in flames. Feeling proud of herself yet weary of all her fire-wielding training, Vanya smiled and sighed in pure content. "Thank goodness. It took me a while and much of my energy to make this emergency signal, but I was finally able to succeed. This will be a perfect signal for Smaug to see, but I do honestly hope I don't have to use it any time soon." She soon began to feel the weariness get stronger as she knew that all of her training caused her to become sleepy. In an instant, she lowered her hands and in doing so caused her fiery signal to recede back into the fire pit returning it to normal. 'I guess that I'm more tired than I thought. Perhaps I should relax and get some more sleep,' she thought as she stretched her legs out to lay back down. Once she did, she lowered herself down resting her head on her bed deciding it was time for her to take a nap. Vanya could feel that sleep was coming over her, so she closed her eyes and fell fast asleep smiling from what she was able to accomplish.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long after Vanya fell asleep that trouble began brewing down in the valley below. The Orc scout that was ordered by his leader to investigate the cave atop the peak approached its base. He took a moment after he arrived to look up and felt a bit intimidated from the sheer size of the mountain. But, he knew that he had a job to do so he gathered his courage and began climbing the treacherous peak. Concealed within his vest was his rusty black dagger and had his dark longsword dangling off his left side. Strapped to his back was a small, white sack (Vanya's) full of, to an Orc, nasty Elvish food and supplies. It was about a half-hour since he began climbing before he finally reached the large ledge leading to the cave entrance. He grabbed the sack from off his back, gave it a whiff, and turned to sniff around the area for any scent of her. To his surprise, he immediately caught the scent of Vanya just before the cave entrance but also the scent of Dragon. He quickly pulled out his dagger from his vest and dropped the sack beside the right side of the cave entrance wall. Remembering his orders, he entered the dark cave to hunt for and capture the She-Elf who they hunted. He crept quietly through the large, dark tunnel doing his best to be as stealthy and swift as he possibly could. It was taking him down deep into the heart of the mountain where the tunnel turned right, but he continued to follow the Elf's scent. It was about another half-hour later when he finally reached the sleeping chamber where he caught an interesting sight. As he peered through the chamber entrance, he could see a small fire burning in the center with his prey sleeping beside it. 'Ah, so she IS hiding within this cave,' he thought as he stayed in position looking around the chamber. 'And, it appears that whatever dragon lives here is not around right now so this should be easy to accomplish.' So, he decided to creep closer as stealthy as he could in an attempt to get the jump on his prey and capture her. However, no Orc has ever been silent enough to catch an Elf off-guard as he would soon realize himself.

Vanya woke up to the sound of the Orc's footsteps, as quiet as he was, and sat up quickly looking over in the direction of the sound. She peered through the darkness using her Elvish sight and to her dismay she could see the Orc approaching her. The two of them, now only about 20 feet away from one another, locked eyes as her foe stopped his advance. "What in all of Middle Earth are you doing here, and how did you find me?" She saw that he was ready to fight, and perhaps even kill her, which had her feeling very uneasy. She soon received an answer to her question when she heard and saw the Orc let out a wicked chuckle.

"By order of my leader, I have come to take you to him," the despicable creature hissed as he spoke to her. "If you come quietly and not struggle, I promise that I won't hurt you…that much." He then held out his dagger and pointed the blade of it right at Vanya as a means of intimidating her. "If you refuse at all, Elf scum, then I cannot guarantee that you will still have all of your health after I'm done."

Vanya glared intensely at the Orc and as she did she suddenly noticed that the fire in the pit began to rise. She also noticed that her foe wasn't focusing at all on it, which made her feel like she had an advantage over him. She moved her right hand to the side where she clenched it into a fist still focusing her attention on her dangerous opponent. "There is no way that I shall ever go with you and surrender," she told him in defiance, "you pathetic Orc."

"Why you…," this made the Orc scout furious as he let out a terrible screech and suddenly lunged towards her.

Vanya, in an act of self-defense, held up her left hand out in front of her as an attempt to protect herself. However, as she did the fire shot up from the pit and landed on the ground in front of her much like a wall. For a moment, she couldn't believe her eyes as she saw that the flames were protecting her from her enemy.

The Orc scout jumped back in shock from the wall of flames, however he would not allow this to stop him from completing his mission. He decided to make an attempt to go around the flames with deadly determination to get his hands on Vanya.

The She-Elf had a deep feeling that her enemy would try whatever it took to claim her one way or another. But, whatever way her opponent moved she moved her hands and shifted the fire into that same direction. 'There is no way I will ever allow this monster to take me!'

The battle in the cave went on like this for a long hour or so with the Orc becoming more and more determined. At one point, Vanya had to roll out of the way of his dagger and landed close to the wall and finally the two of them paused. Both of them were out of breath, but neither side wanted to back down from the other in their exhausting battle.

'Damn, he's really tenacious,' Vanya thought as she stared down at her foe still feeling the fatigue. She also realized that her adrenaline was so high that she couldn't feel the pain in her legs at that moment. But, she knew well that it was only a matter of time before her wicked opponent was going to attack her again. 'I have no choice. I have to signal Smaug the Golden now before more of these wicked Orcs show up.' So, she quickly threw up her right hand and waved it around signaling the flames to obey her commands. As she did, the fire circled around the Orc and surrounded him, temporarily ceasing his movements. At the same time, she held up her left hand creating a small fireball that flew over and hovered over her hand. Vanya held it close to her face and whispered into it concentrating all of her energy for both of her tasks. "Here my words, O Flame of Smaug's mountain. Send out our signal as largely and brightly as you possibly can into the sky above this mighty and majestic peak. Make sure that the chosen one to see it, Lord Smaug, has a good view of it no matter how far he may be. Now go," and with that the fireball flew out quickly from the cave making its way to the entrance and up into the air. It then rose up high above the peak and enlarged itself into the form that Vanya had chosen for the flame. From its size, it began to glow brightly with intensity and took its mighty dragon-shaped form and hovered in place.

Back inside, Vanya watched nervously as the Orc was violently swatting away at the fire surrounding him. She saw that he had pulled out his dark sword and used that along with his dagger attempting to destroy the fire. The She-Elf held out her hands to help keep the flames surrounding him strong, but knew it would take all of her strength. In her heart, she knew that it was only a matter of time before her foe would break through and get to her. 'I really hope that Smaug the Golden sees my signal and here in time,' she thought as worry took over her. 'I don't know how long my strength will hold out for, or what this evil creature will do to me when that happens. Lord Smaug….'

Meanwhile, far off in a valley to the East, Smaug was busy eating a few Wild Deer he had killed from a herd. He had just finished devouring a large buck when something to the West caught the Fire-Drake's eye. Curious, he looked up at that direction and sure enough he saw a large, dragon-shaped flame in the sky. It only took Smaug a few seconds to realize that it must have been Vanya's emergency signal trying to reach him. He snarled and within a moment's notice he quickly took off into the air making his way back towards his mountain. The great Fire-Drake flapped his mighty wings hard as he flew swiftly across the sky and with each beat caused a strong wind like a tempest. 'There would only be one reason for that She-Elf to signal me, and now DEATH will be the punishment.' As he thought to himself, his eyes glowed brightly and his inner furnace burned intensely within his chest. It wasn't long at all before he returned to the mountain but, instead of going through the front, he decided to enter through a secret back cave. Smaug had figured that he would be able to get the surprise jump on whoever had invaded his mountain. Once he did and located the invader or invaders, absolutely no mercy would be given to the usurpers.

Back in the chamber, Vanya was struggling to maintain the flames and keep the Orc trapped within the ring of fire. She knew that her strength was quickly failing but she still refused to give up and allow her foe any kind of fighting chance. However, as she felt her strength falter, she was able to stand up with her back against the cave wall behind her as a brace. Unfortunately, as much as Vanya held on, she was struggling to keep her hands up and her eyes focused on controlling the fire. 'Oh no….my strength….I can't hold it…,' and finally fatigue got to her and she dropped her hands in exhaustion. As she feared, the flames dropped around the Orc and the only remaining strength she has was used to lean against the rock wall. Even worse, she could see a wicked smile spread across his despicable face and growled softly when she heard him chuckle.

"Well, now that your pesky flames have finally vanished, the time has come for you to make a choice." He was very pleased that the fire blocking him was gone as he chuckled smirking at his now helpless prey. In an attempt to intimidate her further, he held up his large, black blade and began advancing toward Vanya. "You can either come with me without struggling or," at that moment he held up his blade above his head, "I can drag your injured body down this mountain. So, what will be your answer, Elf maiden?"

"I refuse to go with any Orc scum, and I am not afraid of you," were Vanya's only words in response. She pressed herself up against the wall glaring at him but knew she didn't have enough strength to fight again.

"Oh you should be, and now you just made a big mistake," the Orc told her as he was about to strike her.

Vanya squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for his attack when all of a sudden she felt intense heat. After she heard a loud and terrible roar she heard the terrible scream from the Orc before it started to grow faint. She opened her eyes just in time to see a large, intimidating figure run through the cave after the intruder. She watched in surprise as it chased the Orc through the tunnel towards the entrance, unable to believe her eyes.

Frightened and running for his life, the Orc scout fled as fast as his legs could carry him through the dark tunnels. He could hear the loud, angry roars through the tunnels behind him and the thundering, heavy footsteps. His heart was pounding wildly in his chest as the noises continued to advance closer and closer making him flee faster. To his relief, it was only moments later when he arrived to the cave entrance and didn't waste any time descending down. But, to his fear and disbelief, he was unable to escape the terrible wrath of the enraged titan who wanted him dead.

Smaug, who pursued the intruder with the intent to kill, was both furious and protective of what was his. He had reached the entrance mere moments after the Orc began his descent and didn't waste any time unleashing his power. He bent his head down where he could face the rock wall below the entrance and shot another intense stream of fire down the Cliffside. He heard a terrible shriek from the Orc before hearing nothing but silence a mere moment later, which he knew that meant he was dead. He glanced all over the side for any signs of the Orc moving but could not pick up any signs of movement from the intruder. Satisfied, he turned around to reenter his mountain when he stopped and sniffed the ground beside the entrance. There on the right side was the satchel bag that the Orc had dropped lying against the wall completely undamaged. He bent his head down and gave it a sniff and suddenly he was able to catch two different scents on it. 'Hmm, one of these scents that of that Orc filth,' he thought. 'The other scent is more powerful, and while it smells like that She-Elf it also smells like…,' and in that moment he knew but didn't say. So, he carefully picked up the satchel bag with his teeth, making sure that he didn't accidentally swallow it, and walked back inside. When he reentered his main sleeping chamber, he looked against the back wall where he found Vanya, weakened yet still conscious.

Vanya was still leaning up against the wall when he entered but still looked up at the dragon feeling weak from fighting. However, she was still able to feel relieved to see him again and smiled warmly at the Fire Drake. "You sure had good timing," she told him with a brief chuckle, "coming in when you did and driving that Orc away."

Smaug snorted quietly as he placed the satchel bag gently on the ground beside her small makeshift bed. Once he did, he lifted up his head and faced her, his eyes back to their normal, gentle glow and hissed softly. "He will not be seeing the light of day again, that I can assure you. I was able to see your signal far off to the East while I was busy devouring some deer that I killed. That wretched fool believed that he could enter MY mountain and steal from me without punishment by death. But, he is now dead and you, who was able to survive the attack, are now safe again. As I led that wretch to his death, I found this on one of the walls to the entrance, which bears your scene as well as his. I believe that this may be yours and was dropped by that wretched Orc before his untimely demise. Although," he said as he lowered his head to be down at Vanya's level with a smirk, "I must say that I'm quite impressed. I never would have thought that an unarmed She-Elf could defend against an armed opponent the way you did."

Vanya chuckled again as she looked down to the ground momentarily trying to gather her strength again before looking back up. "Well, I can't say that I was truly unarmed knowing that I could wield and control fire. That Orc told me that he was told to take me alive, injured if necessary, and was willing to harm me if I refused. The flames were strong and were able to hold him long though they weakened when my strength finally left me. Fortunately, it was long enough for you to return and, intended or not, you have saved my life again." As she spoke, she slowly walked back to her bed and carefully sat down before Smaug trying not to wince from her leg pain. "For that deed, you have my eternal gratitude….my Lord Smaug."

Smaug could only chuckle as he coiled his body in the same position as the previous night and look upon her with a snort. "You do not have to be so grateful. Did I not say that I would provide you with protection so long as you stayed within my mountain? I will never tolerate any intruders who would dare to enter here and take what is mine." He looked down at the fire pit and saw that the fire within it was very low due to Vanya using it to attack and defend. He glanced back at her as she looked weary from her fight with the Orc and realized what must have happened. "I can see that you were able to maintain control of the flames very well. Your strength seems to be increasing as I could see that you were able to stand for quite some time."

"That is true," Vanya chuckled as she tucked her legs in close to her body. She was surprised at herself that she was able to do so without flinching, which she sighed with relief from. "My legs don't hurt as much as they did before, but unfortunately they are still a bit weak yet from all of my travels. I'm afraid that it will still take some more time before I am able to regain my full strength and walk without difficulty."

"That is fine," Smaug replied as he lowered his head down and let out a small flame from his mouth. It was controlled well yet strong enough to relight the fire pit's weakened flame, bringing back illumination to the chamber. When he was done, he lifted his great head and faced Vanya hinting at her satchel bag resting beside her bed. "I have found the satchel of which you spoke of before, so that would be one of your possessions returned to you. I could tell from the scent alone that it was yours though it had a bit of filthy Orc scent with it as well. I'm sure that it contains your Elvish sustenance, but whether you eat it or not makes little difference to me. As for myself, I have already had my fill of flesh for the next three days so I can keep a closer eye on you to keep you out of trouble."

Vanya looked over on the right side of her bed and saw that he truly did return her satchel bag to her and smiled warmly with relief. She reached over and grabbed it bringing it closer to her before opening it up to take something out of it. Looking inside, she was relieved even further that noting spilled or spoiled so she pulled out a large piece of flat bread wrapped up inside of a large, green leaf. "This will help relieve me of my hunger," she said as she broke off a piece of the bread and ate it quietly. After she swallowed that piece, she quickly broke off another piece, and several bites later the leaf was empty as she finished her last bit of bread. Realizing that her hunger grew nearly as much as a dragon's, she ate the bread within mere minutes. After she was done eating, she sighed with content as she looked back into her bag, pulled out her water pouch and took a few sips. After that, she set the pouch back into her satchel along with the empty leaf and stretched her arms before resting them on her stomach. "Ah. Nothing like a bit of Lembas bread to help overcome one's hunger, especially when you haven't eaten in a while."

"Shame that it had the nasty scent of Elf," the Fire Drake told her with a sneer and a chuckle. "You seem to have a quite the large appetite….even for a She-Elf."

The Elvish princess couldn't help but chuckle from his comments and set her satchel bag back in its spot beside her bed. "Well, after my long journey getting relentlessly pursued by an evil Orc pack, it tends to cause such an appetite. But, luckily the Lembas bread can relieve even the worst starving stomach and can stay fresh for a long time." She then looked back up at Smaug smiling and pointed at her satchel bag. "I don't suppose that you would want any, would you?"

Smaug only gave her a disgusted look in reply just before he snorted in disbelief from her poor attempt of a joke. "Very funny, but I would never take part in such nasty excuse for food. I'd much prefer the sweet taste of flesh from my hunts, even if that flesh ends up being cooked from my breath."

Vanya felt a bit concerned from his remark about killing and gazed up at him as her smile faded from her. "Lord Smaug, if I may be so bold to ask you…."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Well…," the Elvish princess took a deep breath before asking, "have you, in all your years, devoured an Elf before?"

The Great Fire Drake could tell from the sound of her voice that she was feeling nervous waiting for his answer. But, he let out another yet soft snort and lowered his head looking her directly in her eyes with a serious gaze. "As I told you before, I kill who I wish when I wish to and devour anything I desire," he began explaining. "However, unlike my late father and these other mindless dragons, I have never killed nor eaten an Elf. I am sure that your kind would taste terrible, so there is no need for you to concern yourself on such nonsense."

Vanya looked down for a moment, sighing with relief and smiled softly with a chuckle before looking back up at him curiously. "So, would that mean there will be a slim chance then that you will not think about devouring me?"

"Do not make the mistake of thinking me as some compassionate creature." Smaug hissed coldly as he maintained a calm tone in his voice. "I protect what is mine fiercely against all who oppose me as long as I still have breath and strength. You interest me greatly which is the only reason why I haven't harmed you, and why you are still alive. But I must warn you to never test me for my patience can wear thin and that would be deadly for you. Also, do not think that I will ALWAYS come to your rescue every time you get attacked by your enemies. You must learn to protect yourself more and rely on your skills and these newfound Dragon powers of yours."

"I understand that," Vanya allowed her smile to fade again as she knew that he was right and knew not to argue with him. "I am an Elvish princess trained in the ways of a warrior by my father and the guards ever since a young age. However, the thing is that I have been so busy learning to control my new powers as well as fleeing that Orc pack. I'm afraid that I have grown a bit rusty in my Elvish skills but I still remember all of my basics of battle. However," she paused for a moment as she looked down at her hands and sighed heavily as she clenched them.

"Go on."

The She-Elf looked back up at him worried as she rested her hands, now unclenched, gently on her lap. "Much of the battle skills that I have learned revolved around archery and also swordsmanship," she explained. "I'm sure that you saw when you first brought me in here was that I have neither bow nor any arrows. I did have a sword at one point, as I told you last night, but I ended up losing it as I made my way up the Cliffside. As soon as I regain my full strength I'm going to go back down in search of it no matter what dangers I might face. I have to find my sword as soon as I possibly can."

"Now that is interesting. Why is this sword of yours so important to you? Hmm," the Fire Drake was mildly curious but continued to listen to what his guest was telling him.

"That sword…once belonged to my mother, whom was….slain when I was very young," was Vanya's hesitant answer to him. It took her some time to answer, for she knew well that her just uttering those words was hard for her to stomach.

Smaug was quite surprised by her answer only a little but saw the sorrowful way she stared up at him. The look in her eyes showed him that she still felt pain from her mother's death and has missed her dearly. It was at that moment that, after he snorted softly, he decided to show some amount of compassion to her. This was truly against his cold and heartless nature to care for others, but since she was his guest he would try despite him disliking it. "How exactly was she slain and who had slain her?"

Vanya, surprised by his sudden question, had to take a brief moment to take a deep breath before she spoke. "My father told me that she was slain by some Morgul Orcs that he believed to be some remnants of the Dark Lord's original forces. From what I remember him telling me, she was ambushed by them while on the Road returning home from a long trip. This was his reason why he wished me to be fully trained for battle should this end up happening to me as well. I am his only living heir and the only member of our kin of the royal bloodline of our people so he wants me to be safe."

"Yet, despite being his daughter and kin, he had still exiled you for having these 'Dragon Powers' as you call them?"

The Elvish Princess was taken back in surprise from this and grew silent from this for only a moment or two. She looked down away from his piercing yet haunting gaze and let out a heavy sigh rubbing her right arm gently. "Yes. What you say is true and that he did indeed exile me in fear of what I gained though I don't fully know why. However," she stopped rubbing her arm and looked back up at him with strength and pride, "I still don't feel angry. I do not hate nor feel angry towards my father or my people for exiling me and refuse to succumb to those feelings. I am still their beloved princess after all, and I refuse to let any strange powers I gain change that about myself."

Smaug closed his eyes and shook his head chuckling from hearing her proud statements about herself. He opened them again and gazed at her feeling a bit unimpressed by her royal status but still found amusement in his guest. "Do you truly believe that your title means anything out here in the Withered Heath?"

Vanya looked up at him curiously from what he asked as her eyes softened and rested her arms gently on her lap. "What do you mean?"

"You may be a princess of Elves and well received by your kind and the likes of Men, but here in these mountains….royal titles mean nothing. As far as I and other dragons who reside within the Withered Heath are concerned, you are just another Elf to us. Nobility will not help you here, and it will not protect you against their wrath, as only power matters here."

Vanya was surprised by his explanation and let out another heavy sigh and looked down at the fire while she thought. 'He may be right. After all, what do I know of the Wild of these Southern lands and what they might think about royalty? He has lived here for who knows how many ages, so I have no doubts that he knows what he is talking about. But,' at that moment she looked back up at him intrigued, 'there is something that I need to know for certain. "Lord Smaug, may I ask you another question?"

"Hmph. You seem to be asking me many questions," the Fire Drake replied hissing softly, "but what is your question?"

"You said that power is what matters most here in these mountains, so how much danger am I in with my only current strength being these fire-wielding powers? I know that I can control it as well as I have so far, and it is my only means of defense until I can recover my sword."

Intrigued, Smaug looked away to the pitch darkness down in the tunnels thinking carefully about his question. "Hmm…..what in interesting question coming from you, my young She-Elf."

"You may call me by my name, Vanya, if you so choose to."

"Yes, I suppose I could," Smaug replied with a chuckle as he turned his head back to face her with a sneer. "As to answering your question, here is what I can tell you: the more powerful you are, the less chance you will be attacked. You are a She-Elf who can wield fire as well as I or any dragon, so many will end up becoming wary of you. However," as he spoke he lowered his head so that their faces were decently closer, "that will also make you a target. Those who find out about your powers will come to test your strength in order to determine whether you may live or die. Of course," he chuckled once again still sneering as he lifted his head to look down upon her, "that applies to when you are alone." He then inhaled a bit and smirked at her with his gaze beginning to glow brightly before he spoke again. "That will only happen IF I allow it to happen." It was at that moment that a light breeze blew into his cave straight into the chamber that caught his attention. He sniffed for a moment at the breeze as his eyes returned to their usual calm hue before he spoke again softly. "We shall discuss this more in due time, as I can smell the evening air indicating that it is now time to rest. You shall need it to recover your strength if you wish to become stronger, however I doubt you shall be as strong as I. I shall be keeping watch for any more signs of intruders a while after you fall asleep to prevent any surprise attacks."

"Thank you," Vanya smiled warmly as she lowered herself down onto her bed, folding her arms under her head before lying on her stomach. After letting out a soft yawn, she continued to look up at the magnificent dragon with a weary smile. "Lord Smaug, as much as it is indeed hopeful thinking, I do hope that I can become powerful like you one day. Until then, I'm still grateful that someone as magnificent and powerful as you is watching over me. Thank you again for saving my life, though you didn't intend to, and wish you a pleasant and good night." With that, she closed her eyes and within moments she fell fast asleep under the watchful eyes of Smaug the Golden.

The Great Fire-Drake snorted softly, unbelieving that she would say such kind words to some such as him. He found it amusing yet at the same time strange that anyone would ever find themselves trusting him so much. But, he remembered that this was the first time in his life that something like this has happened to him. She did intrigue him greatly, that much he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt and chuckled softly to himself. 'I must keep a close eye on this young Elfling, he thought as he watched her sleep with a curious stare. 'How could she feel like she can trust me so much when we only met not that long ago? She is not like any Elf that I have ever seen, but I shall indeed continue watching over her for a while longer. There are still those filthy Orcs who had pursued her all this time that are now hidden somewhere nearby, I'm sure.' He then turned his head to look towards the tunnel leading towards the entrance glaring as his eyes began to glow angrily. 'They had dared to enter hear and steal what is now mine, and they might dare to attempt such a foolish plan again. Their determination will become their DEATH so long as I live and breathe, for NO ONE ever steals from me!' Smaug remained awake for most of the night keeping watch and smelling the air for any signs of Orc but detected nothing. It wasn't long after midnight before sleep had finally taken hold of him and he lowered his head and fell asleep. The intensity of his yes softened as he closed him but not before he lay his head close to Vanya as a means of extra protection for his guest as he slept.

Outside, the gentle breeze of the evening air blew against the few trees and plants making them sway quietly. Above the sky was of a dark blue color blanketed with billions of stars that shone like bright diamonds. The mountains and the valley below were in shadow from the night, and only the stars and the shimmering full moon illuminated them. There was also an eerie silence as no sound could be heard anywhere within the Withered Heath itself. It was as if it foretold some kind of wicked or evil presence and power with its deadly quiet atmosphere. For proving Vanya's fears of her enemies' dangerous pursuit, the Orc pack was still nearby waiting for their chance to strike…


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Nearly three hours went by after the events in Smaug's mountain as the Orc pack grew quite tired and restless from waiting. Their Scout had not yet returned from checking the mountain to report whether or not he had found their quarry. The leader of the pack, now growing more and more impatient with each passing second, glared up at the peak. "Where is he and what is taking him so long?!"

The rest of the pack sat around on the ground nearby with their sleeping Wargs, not knowing if the Scout was alive or dead. The Orcs all looked over at one another silently, unsure whether or not they wanted to try to answer to their leader. They all knew and feared his temper and remembered just how dangerous and violent he could be when he got angry. Three of them huddled close to one another and spoke in soft tones so their leader couldn't hear them conversing. "What if our Scout was defeated," asked the first Orc softly as he turned to look at his other comrades. "I don't know," replied the second, "but we did see that large dragon breathe fire against someone down that one Cliffside. It is possible that it could have been our Scout and if so then we can assume that he had failed and fallen." But the third crossed his arms and took a moment to look up at Smaug's peak in the distance then back to the others. "That is probably what happened, as Dragon-Fire is usually deadly and incredibly powerful so our Scout might not have survived." Suddenly, they could feel the cold stare of their leader down their backs and turned to see his furious gaze upon them. All at once, the three Orc soldiers grew deathly silent so they wouldn't fall prey to their leader's wrath.

The Orc leader snarled as he paced around their temporary hideout until he saw something that caught his attention. At the same time, his Warg awoke and the Orc could see it glare out into the darkness and heard it growl lowly. He knew that it could sense something in the air and soon he too was able to pick up the scent and glared in that direction. It was the scent of burnt flesh, but it was the flesh of an Orc and figured that it had to have been their Scout. Ah…it seems like our Scout has finally returned from the wretched dragon's mountain to give us his report."

It was indeed the Orc Scout, who staggered and stumbled as he approached the rest of the pack. Much of his armor was gone, and it was clear that his skin was charred and crackling from being charred by Smaug's flames. Still clinging to life, he wobbled up to his leader until he stood before him with as much strength as he could still muster. "My….my leader," he began to report as his breath slowly returned to normal, "I have news to report but you will be displeased and angry. I have found our prey but was unable to capture her as she wielded flames like a sorceress and then that dragon showed up. It came in out of nowhere, chased me down in an attempt to burn me alive, so I had to flee out of the mountain. I tried to climb down the Cliffside as swiftly as I could, but the dragon's flames blew down upon me so I had to drop to the valley floor. As I lay there on the ground, I realized that the She-Elf's flames were very strong on their own, but that dragon's fire proved more deadly."

"That is what you should expect from these fiery beasts of the Northern Mountains," the leader said calmly as he listened, "but that means nothing. After all, we are only here in this forsaken place for the She-Elf and not for any of these fire-breathing creatures."

"But sir," the Scout replied as he gathered his strength to stand before the leader, "that dragon who resides in that cave might be protecting her. Whether or not that could be true, how do we get past him in order to obtain that which we have been hunting?"

"We must wait until he leaves again to hunt," the leader answered with a sneer, "then we shall storm in and overwhelm her. By the time that beast returns we would have already been long gone and there will be nothing it can do to stop us." He then let out a wicked chuckle as his gaze turned to Smaug's peak once again determined to get his hands on his prey. "So, she has been able to wield flames like a dragon, huh," he said to himself as he smirked, "that is quite interesting."

The Scout smiled briefly before wincing a bit from all of the burns he got as he reached for something on his back. He then pulled out Vanya's covered Elvish blade that miraculously was still unharmed from Smaug's powerful flames. He held it up to hand to his leader showing that he was still able to hold onto it despite what he had been through. "Yes, but as long as we still have her blade and her scent, she won't be able to hide from us no matter where she may be."

"Yes…however," the leader quickly turned back to face him, grabbed his Orc blade from the Scout's sheath behind him then plunged it deep into the Scout's abdomen. "I won't allow or tolerate any of my subordinates to slow down our Master's plans and that will include YOU." A few seconds later he pulled the sword out, wiped off the blood with a bit of ripped clothing from the Scout's outfit, the returned the blade back into its sheath.

The Orc Scout clutched his wound as he gurgled and gasped with blood coming from his mouth and wound before falling to the ground. With one final gurgling gasp, he remained on the ground now as a lifeless corpse as the rest of the Orcs watched in shock.

The leader, unfazed by what he had just done, turned his gaze to his remaining forces with a sinister sneer. "Let this be a lesson to the rest of you should ANY of you ever fail me! We shall plan our ambush and wait for our chance to enter that dragon's mountainous lair after that beast leaves. It shall only be a matter of time before we finally claim that which we have hunted and return back home."

The Wargs, not smelling the scent of blood from the dead Orc Scout, raced over to the corpse all at once. They all swarmed around and began to devour him, snarling and snapping their jaws at one another as they ate. When they were finished a few minutes later, the Wargs all lifted up their heads and howled up at the moon. Their haunting melody echoed throughout the valley like an evil spirit moaning in the night which also reached Smaug's cave. At the same time, the Orcs and their leader turned in listening to their mounts' howls while leaving the bones of the dead Orc on the ground.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

The following morning was gloomy as scattered gray clouds blew gently across the amber colored sky. Every so often the sun would peak behind them as it rose higher and higher bathing the mountains in its light. Smaug's peak was struck the most by the sun's warm rays from its height and caused the air to warm up significantly.

That awoke Smaug deep within the mountain as the warmed up morning wind blew in and tickled his nostrils. The Great Fire Drake opened his eyes and took a moment to sniff the air for any signs of Orcs before raising his head. There was not much of a scent other than the faint trace of Orc blood that he had picked up during the night. Still, despite this he kept his piercing gaze on the entrance tunnel for any new scents on the air or any signs of movement.

Vanya awoke only a few minutes later and looked over to see Smaug keeping watch at the entrance tunnel. She quickly noticed that his gaze was that of being on guard so she sat up slowly wanting to know what was going on. "Good morning, my Lord Smaug. Is there something the matter or some scent that you have picked up?"

"There is nothing the matter at the moment," Smaug replied while still fixated on tunnel, "but there was something last night I detected. The scent of Orc blood and the howling of vile wolves from somewhere down below, but that is no concern. Wolves cannot reach here, nor do I believe that those wretched creatures dare to venture in here again. So," he turned to look down on Vanya, "what is it that you plan to do now that your strength is returning? I have had my share of flesh to last me several days so hunger will not interfere and I will be able to keep a close eye on you. No one will be able to trespass into MY mountain as I remain unless they wish to die from the flames."

"Has anyone ever trespassed like that before," Vanya asked as she gently tucked in her legs under her still facing the dragon.

"Not since I have first made claim to this mountain many years ago, and no other dragons have tried claiming this peak since."

"If I may ask, how long have you been living here and what sort of foes have you faced in the past?"

"Many years I have spent living here," Smaug answered as he looked away in smug thought, "and many foes I faced during that time. Most were from the other dragons who had all been fighting for this very peak, including against me which they have lost. They could not defeat me though they had tried their best, but their best wasn't good enough to succeed. There were also times when I had fought filthy goblins and nasty Dwarves from the distant Iron Hills in which they inhabit. While during those times I had slain some, I was focused more on obtaining food rather than slaying them. Ever since I had claimed this mountain as my own, I had not found myself in many battles that were worthy of me. There will be others who will try to claim my mountain and challenge me, I'm sure, but they will all fall to me."

Vanya felt for sure that his boasting wasn't a lie as she saw a brief glimpse of his power when he rescued her. "Well, knowing how large and powerful you are, I know that you could easily defeat at least 100 foes with little difficulty. In fact, I would even say that you must be the most powerful and largest of the dragons in all of Middle Earth."

Smaug let out a small chuckle as her compliment caused him to smile slyly the moment he heard her say so. "You think so, do you," he asked as he turned back to face her bending his neck down close to her eye level. "Well, you would be mistaken in thinking that I am the largest and most powerful of all dragons, Fire Drakes or not. There are many other dragons who are as large and as strong as I, and even some who are more significant as I. In fact, there was one long ago who was the most powerful and largest of all our race that I have heard of. Tell me, have you heard of the one called Ancalagon the Black who terrorized the land within the First Age?"

"Ancalagon the Black? Hmm….," Vanya thought about it for a moment trying to remember if she had heard that name before. It was only a moment later when she let out a gasp and looked back at him as if she was well aware of the name. "Wait…I do remember hearing about him. It was said that he was as deadly a threat as the original Dark Lord Morgoth himself was back in that age. The dragon's size was immense and his power was unmatched by and Peoples of Middle Earth at that time. However, I also remember hearing that when he was finally slain and fell, he destroyed the entire mountain range of Thangorodrim as well. That was all I can recall about him, but looking at you it's clear that you are also large and very powerful. So, as I am curious about this, how large was Ancalagon compared to you Lord Smaug?"

Smaug let out a chuckle and grinned as he lowered his head down close to her with his long, serpentine neck. "He was once indeed a mighty force in his age," he told her, "in both his immense size as well as his strength. They once said that he was as tall as my peak is, and if he did not fall many of us would not still have breath. Even I, whom you consider the largest and most powerful, would have difficulty defeating such a powerful foe." As he uttered those last words, he became bitter and rose his head again in disgust thinking of a dragon mightier than himself. His eyes became bright again in anger at the mere thought of Ancalagon and let out a loud snarl followed by a low growl. He was not upset with Vanya, he knew, but at himself thinking of someone who made him almost feel….insignificant.

Vanya saw his anger and frustration as she knew he didn't like to think of anyone more powerful than he. That's what she told herself, at least, and felt that she needed to do something or even say something of support. She looked over and saw his right winged foreleg close to the head of her bed and got a daring idea in her head. She reached her left arm out and gently placed her hand atop one of his claws, knowing well that no one would have dared to do so. However, she felt it in her heart that she trusted him enough and found herself caring about him slowly. That was what she wanted to prove to the great Fire Drake along with showing that she was not at all afraid of him.

Smaug, feeling her touch, looked down suddenly as he was surprised that she would dare such a move with him. He let out a low growl but did so as gentle as possible to not frighten her as he lessened the light in his eyes as well. Just by judging from the tenderness of the She-Elf's touch, he realized that she was trying to give him some comfort though he thought that it was unneeded.

"My Lord Smaug, I would not dwell on someone such as Anchalagon the Black from ages past," Vanya told him gently. "There is a large significant difference between the two of you that I'm sure you are aware of that I know for certain. His intelligence was nowhere as close as yours is, and he was too arrogant thinking that his size alone was enough to make him invincible. Because of those large flaws, he had fallen to the likes of my fellow Elves and the Men of those days long past. He died long ago, but you still remain because you clearly have more intelligence and power than he could ever wish to have. While I might have seen only one other dragon in my life, I will honestly say that you are indeed the most powerful and magnificent I have ever seen and known. Perhaps the most magnificent and powerful in all of Middle Earth, and I truly mean that with all of my heart."

Smaug couldn't help but smirk and let out a soft chuckle from hearing such praise coming from an Elf. He lowered his head more so where the two of them were able to talk face-to-face and let out another chuckle. "You assume too much, and your flattery as you know will not get anywhere with me," he said gently. "However, you do seem to greatly acknowledge my power and show great respect to me and who I am compared to that fool. Curiously I wish to ask you about something."

"What would you wish to know, Lord Smaug?"

"The first time that we spoke, you mentioned to me how you were attacked by a pitch-black dragon. It was now that you told me that I was the only other dragon you have ever encountered, correct? Tell me, was the first dragon the one who first gave you these powers over flame and the sight similar to mine?"

Vanya sat there in silence as she continued to stare up into the Great Fire Drake's eyes, nearly afraid to answer his questions. But, as she heard a low growl escaping him, she knew that she had to be honest with both him and herself. "Y-Yes, that is correct, Lord Smaug."

Smaug smirked once more and looked away from her, closing her eyes as he let out another chuckle. He turned back to face her while still smirking, as she was able to confirm to him something he witnessed a while back. "Now, that IS interesting. I do seem to recall seeing a dragon dark as night similar to that some years ago. He was not as large as I, but he was of formidable size as well as having a dark and terrible stench about him. To me, he did not seem to be a real dragon at all but something rather…..evil, yet still took the form of a dragon." As he was thinking about the dragon, he then found himself wondering something that he hadn't thought about in a while. He lowered his head down close to Vanya and gave her a deep sniff to confirm something he suspected during their first meeting.

"What seems to be the problem, my Lord," Vanya asked trying to remain calm as she felt his breath upon the back of her head.

"While we are on the topic of this dark dragon, you should know that I had picked up his scent upon you when I first brought you here. I thought that was something strange for an Elf to have a scent of a dragon, but now things have become clear." Smaug lifted up his head again and turned to face the tunnel leading to the entrance wondering where that dragon may be. "Perhaps that is why you wield such powers and also why your own people had to banish you from your land."

Vanya looked down into the flame somberly, fearing that the worst may have fallen upon her since that day. "If that is true, then…could it be possible that I've been cursed by that terrible creature? Also, would that mean I can never return home and reunite with my people or my father ever again?" At that moment, she closed her eyes and thought about her village and the smiling faces of her father and her people. But, as she did, her heart ached knowing that she could possibly never return home and be among them again. As these thoughts and fears entered her mind, she grew even sadder and a few tears rolled gently down her cheeks.

Smaug detected the air about her growing heavy and let out a soft scoff at the thought of her becoming sad. Still, her fear of being cursed with the dragon-like abilities had him feeling unpleasant and decided to say something to get her over it. He briefly glanced back down at her before turning to face the tunnel again while not showing any emotion. "Perhaps, but then again, perhaps not. It will all depend on how you will use these powers that you were given from here on," he told her while not adverting his gaze.

Vanya gasped softly as she suddenly looked away from the flame and stared up unbelieving at him. She wasn't sure why he would try to comfort her by saying such a thing, but it made her strongly consider his words. "I don't know if you were trying to give me comfort, or if you wish for me to overcome my fear and sadness," she said to him. "However, I want to thank you and also tell you that I shall always remember your words as you are indeed right. Although, I could never have imagined that I would be out here in the Withered Heath with a powerful dragon such as yourself. Nor would I expect that some dark being would have given me these sort of abilities, but for what purpose is the question. I would love to have better understanding of them as well as better control, but I do not know where I can practice doing so. Lord Smaug, would you have any ideas on how I would be able to practice controlling these powers of mine?"

"Your thanks is not needed," the dragon told her as he turned to face her once again with a mild glow in his eyes. "I only told you that so I could get you to stop feeling so pathetic with your petty fears and worries. It was annoying. As for where you may practice controlling your powers, I may have a place in mind if you wish to follow me." With that, he turned his body around and began walking down a darkened tunnel at the back of the sleeping chamber.

Vanya quickly rose to her feet and hurried after him as they travelled through the darkened tunnel. She walked swiftly along his right side attempting to keep up with the dragon as the continued on their way. The tunnel was as dark as the darkest night, so she had to resort in using her Dragon Sight to help her see. The only light source was Smaug's inner furnace, which he lit up to provide more illumination for both of them. They had walked for only a few minutes, but the Elvish Princess's curiosity grew so she looked up at him as they continued walking. "My Lord, where are we heading?"

"You will see soon enough," was the Fire Drake's only response as he continued, never once looking down at her.

The two continued on for another half hour before finally they reached the end where they saw a bright light emitting from it. Vanya had to use her left arm to help shield her eyes from the light while Smaug raised his right forelimb above her. It was enough to help Vanya see while he rested his claws against the rock wall beside him as he looked down upon her. "We are here."

Vanya unshielded her eyes and looked past the light to what he brought her to see and was immediately entranced. Smaug had taken her to a large, hidden chamber with a large, open ceiling that sunlight was emanating through. There were numerous large crystals that stuck out from the rock walls that glittered with a rainbow-like hue. Along the rim of the ceiling were various large stalactites with numerous and equally large stalagmites below them. She observed that the chamber was as large as 5 Smaugs if they were stretched from snout to tail in a curled position. What caught her eye the most was at the center where a large yet brilliant campfire stood, much like a beacon placed in the center. 'Of all the things that would be in a cave," Vanya thought to herself, 'I never would have imagined something this beautiful.' She looked up at the Fire Drake, unable to believe that she was actually seeing something so beautiful hiding inside of his mountain. "Wow…..this-this is amazing. Lord Smaug, what is this place?"

"Somewhere where you can come and train yourself as much as you wish without disturbance or fear of attack," Smaug replied. He looked down and faced her, amused by her admired gaze at the chamber and chuckled softly.

"When did you discover this amazing chamber?"

Smaug glanced inside the chamber giving it a look-over before arching his neck down lowering his head close to hers. "Not long after I had claimed the peak for my own. I investigated the mountain thoroughly, to make sure there were no intruders attempting to make their home here as well. As I did, I came upon this chamber and was intrigued by the sheer size and beauty it held and decided to make it a sunbathing spot. That fire which you see in the center was what I placed there myself to mark this as mine like the rest of the mountain. However, I shall allow you to come and train here as much as you wish for as long as you wish until I say otherwise. Inside these walls, no one will be able to disturb you nor shall anyone find you when I am away hunting, should they dare to trespass. Now," he looked up and entered the chamber until he was along the back wall before facing her, "demonstrate your powers for me."

"My Lord?" Vanya was confused but she entered the chamber herself and stood before the firepit looking up at the dragon nervously.

"Show me the powers that you wielded against that Orc filth so I may see how in control you truly are," Smaug repeated fiercely. As he spoke, his eyes began to glow with bright intensity and his inner furnace began to glow with the same while a smirk spread over his face. Without any sort of warning, he shot out a large stream of intense fire directly in the direction of the chamber entrance close to where Vanya was standing.

The Elf hardly had any time to react as she leaped inside of the chamber on its left side to avoid the frightening attack. She cartwheeled in that direction until she found herself behind one of the large crystals to use as a temporary shield. In those few moments of safety, she was alarmed and deeply confused as to why he had just decided to attack her like he was. However, as she remained behind the crystal, she knew that it wouldn't stand for long against the intense fire being released by Smaug. She peaked over on the right side of it looking at the dragon trying to time when he would strike again before making her move. As she watched him take a breath to breath out his flames, she swiftly jumped out in front of her hiding place and immediately ran towards the fire pit. When she made it to the pit, she soon found herself staring straight into a huge stream of flames and so held her arms out in defense. Almost immediately, the fire within its pit shot up and came before Vanya, blocking the fire used by the Fire Drake.

Smaug paused briefly and looked on in amazement as he watched his own flame melt away into the flame Vanya used in defense. He did not dare to admit it even to himself, but he was indeed impressed by her reflexes as well as how quickly she was able to control the fire. But, as he knew that this was only the beginning, he did not want to give her an easy time and decided to make it even more difficult. He began to move around the chamber breathing his flames in as many directions as he moved himself in order to test her further.

Vanya used both her keen Elf senses as well as her Dragon Sight to track the dragon's movements, but finally began to understand what was happening. Waving her arms left and right with each movement of Smaug's head, she controlled the pit's fire to counter the streams of intense flame he launched at her. Each time it became more and more difficult for her to react so she dodged either left or right depending on where Smaug's flame went. During the training, she would redirect the fire into the pit causing the blaze to become brighter and more intense for a moment.

The two of them continued this intense fire-wielding for what seemed like forever, with neither of them noticing the time passing by. Outside, the sun began its evening descent into the West as the mountains caught the last golden rays atop their peaks. Even the air, which felt warm and pleasant early on in the day, had become mildly cold as the evening arrived. Off in the distance towards the South the first few stars began to glow faintly in the clear, velvety blue sky.

Smaug began to feel the change in the air at that point and dimmed out his inner furnace and stood below the open ceiling at the back of the chamber. He looked up at the early signs of twilight before turning back to face Vanya. "That will be all for today, young She-Elf," he told her at last, lowering his head just to the left of the fire pit.

Vanya, exhausted from the intense fire-wielding, suddenly collapsed down to the floor only holding herself up by her arms. She breathed heavily for a few moments but then sighed deeply from the relief of the day finally being over. Weary, she lifted up her head slowly to catch Smaug's gaze peering down at her in the incoming evening darkness. "My lord, was that to your satisfaction," she asked him as she struggled slowly back to her feet still facing him.

"Quite impressive for someone the likes of you to accomplish with any form of proper training," the Fire Drake told her coldly. "However, you still lack the swift mobility that my kind is known for when we enter battle against others. You struggled to change the direction of the flame while dodging my attacks even when I saw you tracking my movements. Perhaps that will be something you shall learn the next we enter this chamber," he told her as he began walking towards the chamber's entrance.

"But my lord, how would I be able to find my way back here the next time you set out to hunt," Vanya suddenly asked him as she turned toward the entrance herself.

The Fire Drake stopped in his tracks just as he was entering the tunnel after hearing her sudden question and narrowed his eyes. He slowly turned his head back to face her with his long, serpentine neck and his gaze still burned with gentle light. "You shall discover that for yourself soon enough," he told her hissing softly before facing the tunnel again. "Now come, for we shall return to the sleeping chamber to prepare ourselves for tomorrow's training."

Vanya nodded silently as she moved swiftly to keep up with the dragon once again as they made their way silently through the darkened tunnel. This time, she kept close to the wall pressing her right hand against the rock like a guide while remaining close to Smaug's hind legs. She soon realized that there were deep gouges within the stone and, using her Dragon Sight, saw the deep claw marks etched within the walls that Smaug must have left to mark the way to the cave. 'That is how I'll be able to find my way back to this chamber,' she thought.

It was another hour before the two of them finally arrived back in the sleeping chamber, and they both soon rested on their usual spots. Smaug coiled his tail around his lowered body while the Elvish Princess sighed with content sitting comfortably on her makeshift bed. As Vanya tucked her legs gently underneath her, she soon pulled her satchel close and opened it to pull out a piece of leaf-covered Lembas bread and her water pouch. Without a word, she took a few large bites followed by a half-dozen sips of water before sighing with content. "This was truly rejuvenating for me," she said at last before looking up at him with a playful smile and holding up her leaf-covered bread. "My Lord Smaug, are you sure that you wouldn't want to try some of my Lembas bread?"

But the Great Fire Drake only snorted in disgust as a reply as he looked down at her unamused at her attempt of a joke. "I would never take part in such disgusting filth like Elvish food," he told her bluntly while growling softly. "I'm only satisfied with the sweet taste of flesh no matter what kind it may be that I'm able to roast to perfection." As he said this, he had a sinister grin on his face and started licking his lips as he thought about those he had devoured in the past.

Vanya lowered her bread and returned it and her water pouch to the satchel concerned by what he may have been thinking. She sat silently looking up nervously at the wicked look on the dragon's face and couldn't help but worry what he may have been thinking. Was it possible that he may have eaten her kind in the past before they met, and would he be thinking of doing so again….by eating her?

Smaug soon stopped thinking about his past meals when he noticed the worried look on the young Elfling's face and let out a loud snort while his grin faded. "However, while I prefer the taste of wild beasts and a few other desirable meats, I do have some exceptions that do not satisfy my hunger. Orcs and Elves are those which I find truly distasteful so I never try to waste my time devouring their wretched races," he said bluntly looking away into the darkness.

Vanya gasped suddenly but softly before letting out a quiet sigh of relief as she focused her gaze into the warm glow of the fire. 'That's a relief…at least for now,' she thought to herself as a small smile began to spread across her face. Before she could stop herself, she looked back up at Smaug and said aloud, "I'm sure that all of this is strange to you."

"What did you say?" Smaug whipped his head back around quickly the moment he heard her utter those words, his eyes giving a stern yet curious gaze.

The Elvish Princess quickly covered her mouth as he turned, surprised at herself for saying something like that. However, she uncovered her mouth and took a deep breath before deciding to explain herself the best that she could in that moment. "What I mean to say is that I'm sure that this must all be strange for you to have an Elf living within your domain," she stated both calmly yet nervously.

"Indeed. But by all means," Smaug asked as he slowly lowered his head until it was above hers, "do continue to explain."

"Well, as far as I know, you've never had any sort of company inhabiting your mountainous domain," Vanya replied more calmly. "I am probably the first who has ever stepped foot into your home by your will and law, and as I am of Elvish descent that would make it even out of sorts for you. However, because of my curse, it only feels fitting that I live out my exile within a place far away from all Peoples. So, since I am here with you it just has to be here where I live out my life in exile, regardless of any desires to return home."

"You are indeed correct in how no souls other than other dragons have ventured here," Smaug replied lifting up his head about three feet up. "However, do you truly accept the fact that you may never return back to your people and your home again?"

"If that is to be my fate, then I shall have to accept that as my outcome and to also take any of the consequences. But, I swear upon my life that I shall never once dare to betray you as I have promised to you before when we first met. I reside within your mountain and I also owe you my life so whatever you wish of me I shall not refuse. May it be my powers or to have me as your slave," she finished as she bowed her head down to Smaug, "I'm yours to command."

Smaug chuckled with a wicked tone and a sinister grin spread over his face as he stared down at the bowing Elf. "Do not be too eager to accept this as your fate as you have only been here for the past three days," he told her coldly. "You know not how things will fare for you while you remain here, or even how long I intend to keep you alive. I may just end your life now so you will no longer have to worry," and as he spoke his eyes burned brightly and a low growl escaped his massive jaws.

Vanya gasped and leaned back suddenly, taken back from his words as she began to fear for her life at that moment. However, after that moment had passed that feeling of fear itself subsided as she watched the look on his face began to soften once more.

"I have told you before when we met that I kill who I wish when and where I wish especially when they enter my territory. However, my killing instincts regarding you is low so you needn't worry as I find myself more curious about you. There are things that I wish to know about you and intend on finding out those things in these upcoming days. But know this," he said in a more serious tone as he lowered his head once again, "so long as you remain here you will be under my protection. Your pursuers are still down below somewhere waiting for another chance to try and steal you from my mountain. Of course, that will only happen if they find themselves fortunate and that I am nowhere near to drive them out. It will also depend on your skills, for I am only helping you in training so I can learn more about your powers and also so you can protect yourself better." He then let out a loud snort as he once again raised his head with his serpentine neck and stared in the direction to the mountain entrance. "I will say that they do seem to be rather stubborn in their pursuit, but a bit more stubborn as those bothersome Dwarves from the distant Iron Hills."

Vanya looked back up still feeling a bit surprised from what he said, but couldn't help but let out a chuckle from what he said about the Dwarves. "Yes, even I have always thought that they must be the most stubborn of all Peoples in Middle Earth," Vanya laughed, "as well as terribly thick-headed."

The Fire Drake chuckled as well as it seemed like both of them agreed to the same thing, though he would never admit to it. "Indeed." He then turned his head back towards Vanya one last time as he lowered it down until it was above the head of her bed. "If you are finished sustaining yourself for the evening, then in insist that you get your rest to prepare for the morning. I shall keep vigil for some time tonight to make sure that everything is in the clear and so nothing will disturb us while we sleep. Now sleep."

"Yes, my lord. I hope that you rest peacefully as well," Vanya said before yawning loudly while her eyelids began to feel heavy. Within moments, she laid herself down upon her bed tucking in her legs close and within seconds she fell fast asleep.

Smaug chuckled softly as he looked down gently at his sleeping companion as he moved his head to its usual resting position. 'She is indeed an interesting one,' he thought as he kept his softly glowing eyes on the Elvish Princess, 'even though she's an Elf. She is already beginning to accept that she may never return back to her village and remain here with me. Though, I cannot understand why I am beginning to feel something pathetic like compassion for the likes of her. She has already peaked my interest as her being a noble of her race with powers similar to mine as well as the respect she so foolishly gives me. Still, I shall remain vigilant towards her and keep her protected while restraining my natural killing instincts for now. Not only that, but what she said about her accepting her fate as my slave or what else I need of her intrigues me. I may not need anything of her, but her fire-wielding powers are certainly something that I intend to keep her for as long as I wish.'

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a gust of wind that blew in that tickled his nostrils with a scent he was familiar with. His eyes became bright with rage but dared not awaken Vanya as he wanted her to be as rested as she could be. So, slowly raising his body up to not wake her up, Smaug silently walked out of the sleeping chamber and down the tunnel. When he arrived at the entrance a few minutes later, he raised up his head high and sniffed the air for any more signs of the scent he caught. Sure enough, the familiar scent of Orcs and Wargs caught his senses and he let out a low, angry growl as he bared his teeth. He quickly spun his head around to where the scents were strongest and finally realized just where they were lurking below. "So, that is where you are hiding, you filthy creatures," he said softly to himself with a wicked, teeth-baring smile as he looked. With his amazing eyesight, he caught a glimpse of the wooded grove off in the distance, with a little help from the gentle light of the moon above. 'I'm sure they are down there planning something wicked to do with my She-Elf,' he thought before he realized that he called her HIS She-Elf. He glanced back at the cave entrance and wondered whether or not to tell Vanya that her pursuers were closer than both of them thought. He took one last moment glaring at the wooded grove before returning back into his mountain to rejoin his sleeping companion. He lowered his body down in his normal sleeping position and slowly drifted off to sleep himself, but also remained on guard for the rest of the night.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

 _A warm, pleasant breeze blew across the clear blue sky and the sun was shining bright with no clouds covering it. It was in early Spring, so the trees glistened with a green hue of leaves that blew in the wind with various colored flowers blooming down below. All of the buildings glistened themselves like crystal within this village hidden within the woods…the last remaining Elves of Beleriand. It resided within the Northern Wastes though a powerful magical barrier protected it and its surrounding, magically grown forest. That was only made possible because the leader and his lovely daughter were the direct descendants of the all-powerful Valar. For this village of Elves, it was their only means of protection from being detected by anyone in Middle Earth. Their created paradise was unknown to all and they intended to keep it that way so that they would finally be able to live in peace without fear of war or darkness._

 _There in the village square wearing a sterling silver robe, stood the lord of their people named Glandur at the top of a small, grand marble staircase surrounded by his robed soldiers with golden spears. At the base of the stairs in two even yet long lines were his adult subjects all turned to the end of a long, red carpet on the grass. It was at that end that Vanya stood, in a lovely bright green dress which reached down to the ground and brown slippers. Across her back and wrapped around her was a silky white cloak tied together with a dazzling large pearl brooch. Around her waist was a golden sash and a long, ivory colored ribbon that dangled down in the front and upon her brow was a dazzling golden circlet. Her long red hair flowed gently in the warm breeze as she stood before her people and her adoring father, a grateful smile across her face. She walked down the center towards her father, and everywhere she turned her people bowed their heads and applauded her return. Seeing their happy faces filled her with happiness and she felt a sense of peace and tranquility deep within her heart. At last she stood at the base of the staircase looking up at her father and bowed her own head down in her greeting._

 _"My dear sweet Vanya," Lord Glandur said as he descended the stairs down to his beloved daughter, "it is wonderful to have you home again." When he reached the base and stood before Vanya, he immediately wrapped his loving arms around her and embraced her in a welcoming hug. A gentle breeze blew through at that moment, and her hair and his golden hair blew gently along with it._

 _"Dearest father," Vanya said in return as she embraced him back with tears beginning to form in her eyes, "I am so happy to be home. There is so much I wish to tell you of what I had seen and learned from my long and tiresome journey when I was exiled. You would not even believe that I was even pursued by a terrible Orc pack, but I do believe that I had finally eluded them for good."_

 _However, just as everything was turning out for the best, that was when all became dark and beyond terrible for Vanya. All of a sudden, the wind turned harsh and cold and the sky itself became shrouded in darkness eclipsing the sun in the process. Everyone looked about horrified for none had any idea what was happening or what to expect from the sudden change in the air. All at once, their Elvish hearing picked up the sounds of screeching and the numerous pounding of footsteps coming from all directions. Lord Glandur shouted out a command in Elvish to his soldiers and soon the prepared their weapons and spread across the area. They looked hard through the darkness ready to fight whatever it was that was charging towards them._

 _Only Vanya, being the descendant of the Valar, was able to figure out what was happening as she released herself from her father and peered through the darkness. "It cannot be," she said softly in pure fear. But it was._

 _All of a sudden, a huge legion of armed Orcs charged in from every direction and began to attack all who were in their path. Every Elf, even Lord Glandur himself, fought hard to drive the wicked beasts off and stop their carnage, but to no avail. The legion of Orcs proved to be too numerous and too powerful and the Elves found themselves both outmatched and outnumbered._

 _Vanya, who went to try and fight them off with her cursed powers found that she could not call upon them and so stood there helpless. She looked about her, horrified and paralyzed as she watched her beloved people being slaughtered right before her eyes. She felt as though she needed to flee for her life, but found herself unable to move no matter how much she wanted to. "Please no…..this-this cannot be happening," she screamed out amidst the terrible cries of the Orcs and the screaming of her people. It wasn't just ten minutes later that every one of her people, including her beloved father, lay dead and bloodstained about her. She stood there in complete and horrified shock as she covered her mouth in fear and tears flowed endlessly down her cold cheeks. Even seeing her father, who lay amidst his fallen soldiers soaked in blood, made her pale in the face and her blood run cold. 'No…..this-this is all my fault. I-I should have never returned home,' she thought as she felt cold and heartbroken from the loss of all she held dear._

 _Before long, she still wished her body to move so she could flee the bloodstained sight but to no avail as she looked about her. With no chance to escape, she found herself surrounded on all sides by the hordes of armed Orcs, stained with the blood of her people. Despite her tears, she was furious at both herself and them that all of that darkness and bloodshed fell upon them. "You will all regret this," she exclaimed to them even though she knew there was nothing she could do against them alone. All she got in response was their wicked smiles and their terrible cackles showing her that they were proud of what they had done. Vanya would have roasted them to cinders and ashes if she was able to call upon her cursed fire-wielding powers. But, no matter how much she tried to concentrate and summon them, she was unable to so she stood glaring at her hated enemies._

 _Suddenly, every Orc began to back up about ten large steps still holding up their weapons and looked up at the darkened sky. Vanya looked about at them confused as to why they did until she heard a low, menacing growl from above her. She looked up just as a large, dark shadow began to descend on top of her then begin to shapeshift before her very eyes. Vanya gasped loudly and dropped to the ground in horror as the shadow began to take the shape of a large, black dragon-like form. What terrified the Elvish Princess more was the piercing, flaming red eyes that she remembered seeing before. "No….please, it cannot be! Not again!" But she laid there frozen in fear as the creature landed on the ground before her with its clawed legs growling softly. It stared directly into her eyes as it leaned in and began to envelop her in its pitch-black wings engulfing her in darkness. "Please….LEAVE ME ALONE," Vanya screamed as the darkness overtook her and she felt herself fading into nothing._

 ***GASP***

Vanya sat up suddenly from her bed terrified with her face and palms sweating badly and her breath heavy from the fright. It took her a moment before she went and looked around to see where she was at that moment and not where she was before. She recognized the large, cavernous ceiling and the fire pit that continued to glow gently in the center beside her. She was still within the mountain domain of Smaug the Golden, and sighed with relief feeling more peaceful. "Thank the Valar it was only a dream," she said softly to herself.

"It appeared to be more like a nightmare the way you tossed and turned speaking in your sleep."

Vanya quickly turned to face behind the fire pit where she was both surprised yet relieved to see Smaug in his resting position looking down on her. After seeing the horrific creature that she encountered in her nightmare, it filled her heart with joy seeing him instead. "I do not wish to admit it, but you are indeed correct," she said to him sadly, "but it didn't start out as a nightmare. It began happily with my return to my village and seeing my people and my father again welcoming me back home. They were going to have a ceremony for me, and I was embracing my father for the first time in a very long time. But," she then paused as she feared to speak what had transpired after that cheerful moment and looked down afraid.

"Go on."

The Elvish Princess stared back up at the dragon's face with a soft gasp, still afraid to tell him, but the gentle yet hypnotic gaze in his eyes comforted her just enough. "Well, as good as the dream started," she said slowly before taking a deep breath, "that is how bad it became. The sky grew dark, and out of nowhere a legion of Orcs came and attacked my people from every direction. My people, even my father and his soldiers, fought hard but each of them were overwhelmed by the Orcs strength and ferocity. I was unable to move, unable to do anything to help my fellow Elves as they were being slaughtered left and right. I couldn't even call upon my powers to aid them, so I was petrified and helpless to do anything at all. The Orcs then began to surround me and prevented me from escaping as something even more terrifying descended upon me."

"What was it," Smaug asked her gently as he lifted his head up only five feet yet still looked down upon her with curiosity.

"It was…..that CREATURE that had cursed me with these powers of flame," Vanya told him fearfully. "It came down and appeared more menacing then it ever was before as it landed upon the ground before me. With no way out and still unable to call upon my powers, I was feeling like all was lost as it came closer to me. It then began to wrap me in its terrible wings and I found myself slowly fading away into the darkness of its evil. That was when I woke up but," she then paused as a few tears fell down her cheek and her voice choked a little, "it was just horrible." She bowed her head and cried softly for the fear she felt from the nightmare still lingered within her. As if she was trying to compensate and make herself feel safer, she tucked in her legs close to her body and wrapped her arms around them. She had never experienced a dream as terrifying as that, but the events in the dream were what terrified her the most.

Smaug looked down somewhat disgusted at the sight of her sobbing and acting so pathetic before him. 'How could she allow something as meaningless as that nightmare get her so rattled', he thought to himself. He himself had never dreamed of anything like that, for his was usually about him dominating over a new land. Still, hearing her crying softly as she was began to trouble him and decided to offer her some form of comfort. Whether out of some small amount of pity or just so she would stop, he did not yet know, he leaned his head close to hers. Once done, he reached his right fore-claw over, curling it in just enough around Vanya that it was gentle against her body. His gaze was still of disgust but also attempted to show some form of sympathy, despite having trouble doing so. "It was only a dream and nothing more than that, and fearing what came of it will only leave you pathetic and weak," he said gently. "I have doubts that any Orc-scum will find your people and do them harm, for I find them to be mindless and waste of existence. Don't ever doubt what I have told you and never question me, is that understood?"

Vanya sniffled a little as she lifted up her head but then gasped softly from how close Smaug's face was to hers. It was only five feet away from hers but she could feel the warm yet flesh-smelling breath coming from his mouth. To her, his breath was awful but dared not show any signs of disgust in fear of angering him and slowly gave him a smile. Before she spoke, she used her left arm and wiped away the tears that stained her cheeks and took a deep breath. "I completely understand and swear to you that I shall never question you, O Smaug the Magnificant," she told him.

The Fire Drake only scoffed and smiled at her as he rose his body as well as his head up from the ground. "See to it that you hold strong to your sworn oath," he told her as he removed his claws from around her before stretching his wings. Once he was done, he turned towards the cave tunnel that led to the training chamber glancing slightly back toward her. "Now come, for there is much training for you to do."

"Yes, my Lord Smaug," Vanya said feeling braver as she stood up quickly and stretched her arms for a moment. However, as she saw him continue down the tunnel she hurried along after him until she was walking alongside him on the right. Like before it took the two of them just a few minutes before they both arrived at the training chamber. Along the way, she quickly noticed that there were deep grooves embedded within the stone walls made by sharp claws. She figured during that time Smaug must have done this to mark the direction of the chamber while mapping out his mountainous territory. However, she had to go into her Dragon Sight for a moment to see it otherwise it was practically undetectable. Once inside, Vanya observed the sun shining brightly through the hole atop the chamber ceiling and warmly illuminated the room. Down below, the fire continued to burn intensely in its pit within the chamber's center as if nothing had changed. She kept walking inside until she got close to the flame but couldn't help but feel excited as to what her training will be for the day. "My Lord Smaug, if I may be so bold as to ask, but what will be the topic of training today," she asked as she turned around. In that instant, she noticed that the Fire Drake was smirking while his gaze was set both on her as well as the flame in the pit. "My Lord, what is it," she asked though her voice began to quiver.

Smaug did not speak but instead continue smirking as he walked inside positioning himself between the flame pit and the back wall of the chamber. "You have done well to control your fire-wielding while in the light," he said at last as he lit up his eyes and raised his wings. "Now, let's see if you can under attack while in total darkness," and as he spoke he flapped his might wings hard blowing out the flame before raising himself up high. When he did so, he was able to cover up the hole in the ceiling completely making it pitch black inside the chamber.

In that instant, the Elvish princess was staring at nothing but darkness and she began to feel the fear within her. Even with her already impressive Elvish eyesight that enables her to see far and even in the dark, she had trouble seeing in the chamber. She then remembered that this may have something to do with how the training went yesterday when Smaug attacked her. "My lord, this training will be like how it was before, won't it? If so, then what is the changes for today's session," she asked calling out in the darkness trying to catch even the smallest glimpse of movement.

"Only to try to reignite the flame within the pit in the darkness using nothing but the remaining heat it left behind," the Fire Drake said in the shadows. "However, the true test of this training is….can you do it under FIRE?" Without hesitating, Smaug lit up his inner furnace and roared, shooting a hot stream of flame straight at Vanya.

Vanya had only a few seconds to dodge the sudden fire stream and quickly jumped into a flip on her left side and landed on a large rock. She soon ducked behind it hoping it would provide her with enough cover so she could come up with a counter attack. 'He's not going to go easy on me it seems,' she thought as she sighed with relief softly, 'which is to be expected of a dragon. However, there is no way I'm going to fail this training session and,' she then closed her eyes and sighed deeply before opening them revealing her Dragon Sight, 'no way am I staying here!' With newfound determination, she dared to peek around the rock to understand her surroundings better and to figure out her next move. It was then that she saw it: Smaug standing at the end of the chamber while down in the fire pit small amounts of smoke was floating up into the air. The imposing dragon was preparing to unleash more of his flames and delay her from completing her training for the day. 'Hmm…..maybe I can use Lord Smaug's own fire and relight the fire pit using my powers,' she thought as she formulated a plan. She noticed that the pit wasn't far from where she was hiding, but fully aware that the Fire Drake wouldn't make it easy to reach. "Well," she told herself as she crouched down preparing to jump, "here goes nothing!" With all of her strength, Vanya leaped over the large stone she hid behind and began to make haste towards the fire pit.

Smaug watched her patiently as she revealed herself outside of her hiding place though he was already able to catch her scent. He was well aware that she would be making her way towards the pit to relight the flame and smirked. "Do not think for a single moment I will just let you have a clear path She-Elf," he declared as he launched another wave of flames around the chamber.

Vanya saw the flames approaching her and dodged left and right waving her hands to help deter them away. At the same time, she continued running until she was within 12 feet of the pit before she was forced to skid to a stop. Before her was a powerful stream of flame that came towards her as swiftly as an arrow shot from an Elvish bow. She was forced to hold out both of her hands and concentrated to make the fire stop 5 feet from her body. The intense heat felt nearly overwhelming but she refused to give in and allow it to overtake her and was determined to stop its advance. However, she was as surprised as she was sure Smaug was that the fire stayed frozen in mid-air just by her will alone. "No thoughts of that sort came across my mind," she yelled groaning as she held the force of the attack, "and my name is VANYA!" In one, powerful yell, she pulled back her hands slightly before forcing them back forwards causing the flames to be shot back upwards into the stone ceiling of the chamber. As it connected, burst into two smaller falling streams which Vanya was able to manipulate to become both her shield and also her fuel for the pit. Her left hand commanded one of the streams and morphed it into a large fiery shield to protect herself against Smaug's attacks. The other stream she knew would help her reignite the pit witch she was so close to at last so she had it hover over her right shoulder. Within seconds, she advanced again determined not to fail in her training and disappoint herself and the Fire Drake.

Smaug was indeed surprised by how she stopped his flames as well as controlling two different streams at once. However, despite himself being impressed, it only made him want to make the training even more difficult for her. He let out a roar breathing another powerful stream of flames down upon the Elvish Princess pushing her even further.

Vanya held strong with her flame shield as she struggled to press on deflecting the newest powerful stream of fire. 'He won't make this easy for me,' she thought as she stopped shielding herself, 'and the heat of his flames are incredible. He's not called a Fire Drake for nothing, but there's no doubt that he has more tremendous power that he hasn't revealed. Still,' she took a step forward groaning from the stress she was feeling holding back the fire, 'I'm not sure how long I can withstand this for.' Mustering up her strength, she let out a stressful yell swinging her flame shielded arm and batted away Smaug's attack. The fire soon fizzled out and she was able to continue on until at last she stood beside the smoldering pit. She was relieve both from finally making it to the pit and looking upon her right shoulder and seeing her control was strong with the hovering flame. With a swift wave and sheer determination to complete her training, she directed her floating fire to land straight into the center of the pit. As she watched, the fire began to slowly form and grow from below until she could see it dancing and shifting. "It's working," she cried in delight as she thought she was done until she looked over to her left and was shocked. The shield she created from the second stream of fire Smaug launched at her was weakening and deceasing in size at an alarming rate.

Across the chamber, the Fire Drake saw this too and smirked thinking that this will provide an excellent extra challenge for her to overcome. He swayed his head back and forth breathing fire as if it was a raining firestorm spread around the chamber. 'Now young She-Elf, let's see how well you can withstand this amount of firepower,' he thought intrigued by what Vanya's next move will be.

Vanya looked up in sheer disbelief as the overwhelming amount of flames began to descend all around her. Holding up her left arm up, she concentrated on trying to maintain her fire shield for protection and increasing its power. However, as she concentrated on strengthening her defenses, she had almost forgotten about the fire pit. While her control and size of her flame shield increased, the flame inside the pit began to decrease at the same alarming rate. She glanced over at the pit, gasped in fear and at that moment she knew that she was in a terrible dilemma. The Elvish Princess kept looking back and forth frantically at both the flames coming down and back at the now dwindling flame. 'No. What do I do? What am I supposed to do now,' she thought fearfully. It was then that she knew she had to make a difficult choice but was unsure as to which choice to make. Should she concentrate more on relighting the fire pit, or should she forsake it in order to protect herself against the raining flames? She struggled both with the flames and the aching decision she had to make until a spark of realization sank in. She knew what she had to do in that moment, though she was slightly unsure as to how she would be able to pull it off successfully. She took another deep breath, her eyes beginning to glow with intensity and stood her ground strongly and unyielding towards the fire.

Smaug continued his onslaught while at the same time kept a close eye on the young Elf and witnessed something extraordinary. He saw the fire swirl around her body yet her flesh nor clothes burned in the intense heat of his powerful flames. It was as though they were obeying her will despite her just standing and deflecting as much as she could. Then, he saw it: the flames shaping itself around her to form wings, tail and claws that covered her arms and feet. Before his very eyes, she appeared to have created a dragon-shaped fiery shield surrounding her entire body. This was something he had never before seen by any Peoples of Middle Earth he had encountered nor was this something that was heard of. 'These powers of hers,' he thought as he let out one last barrage of flames around the chamber, 'are indeed not from any normal sort.'

Vanya, showing no signs of weakness nor fear, waved her hands around as if she was attempting a dance. With every movement, the flames followed swirling around in the air obeying her every command. It was as though they were one and the same, moving fluidly like water flowing through a stream in perfect sync. It was then that she lifted both her hands together high and, in one swift downward motion, swung them down. The fire, commanded directly with just her will alone, followed her movements and flew directly into the pit. Upon landing, the flame burst intensely in both size and strength until it momentarily took on the form of Smaug's head roaring loudly. That alone shook the chamber just enough for small fragments of the chamber's ceiling to drop down onto the floor around Smaug and herself. But, just as suddenly as the fiery dragon head appeared, it quickly faded away leaving behind a powerful fire within the pit. Vanya stood staring down into the flame and sighed with relief allowing her body flame shield to disappear. However, knowing that she had used up a lot of strength, she began to grow weak and her legs buckled underneath her. Before she knew it, she had dropped to the floor breathing heavily as she tried to maintain consciousness.

Smaug looked down upon his weakened guest with great intrigue as he lowered down his winged forelimbs back to the floor. Bending his long, magnificent neck, he looked up through the opening and sniffed the air realizing that it was now in the early afternoon. The air still felt warm and a cool breeze suddenly came in blowing the smoke away that rose up from the flames. He then took a good hard look around the chamber and saw the after effects of what both he and Vanya had done within. The walls and stalagmites were charred but miraculously still held strong despite all of the flames he unleashed. He has never before experienced anything like this in his long life and looked back down interested in his young She-Elf. "Well now, that truly was something to behold She-Elf," he told her as he walked forward until he stood before her leaning his head down close.

Growing weaker and more exhausted, Vanya was able to still find strength enough to smile and chuckled softly. "I believe that I have mentioned to you before," she said as she looked up into his eyes wearingly, "my name is Vanya." But her strength finally faded and fell to her left side, moaning softly as she took one last look up at Smaug before losing consciousness. Hours went by, and at last the Elvish Princess awoke to the soft sound of fire crackling, moaning softly as she slowly sat up. With her normal Elvish sight, she looked around and realized that she was back within the sleeping chamber resting atop her bed. She looked at the flame dancing in its pit almost mesmerized until she heard the familiar sound of soft growling and looked up. "My Lord Smaug, you brought me back here to your sleeping chamber," she asked gently before remembering. "Oh right! My lord, how did I do with the training today and how long have I been unconscious for?"

"Most impressive even for one such as you," the Fire Drake answered with a smirk as he lowered himself down into his sleeping position. "As for how long you have been not conscious for, it has been at least a few hours as it is now in the evening hours. You will never hear me utter these words again, so listen carefully now….you did indeed impress me. The way that you used your powers to both deflect my attacks and to relight the chamber's pit were the keys to your success, but there was more to it than that. Did it occur to you that upon the moment before losing consciousness you had taken the form of a mighty Dragon yourself?"

Vanya gasped softly at his question as she looked down at her own hands and almost all at once she remembered. All of her determination and all of her courage had transformed her and the flames she commanded had become one with her. "I-I do remember, but to be honest I don't really know how I was able to command the flames like that. The only thing I wanted was to not fail in my training or to even disappoint you and the fire seemed to have responded to my heart's desires. Not only that, but as I was struggling to keep up the pit's flame as well as my own defense, that was the first idea that came to mind. It was as if….it was as if you were correct and I did nearly take the form of a dragon," she uttered in disbelief. Then, like she was desperately searching for answers, looked quickly back up at Smaug hoping he would tell her. "My Lord, were my powers transforming me into a dragon like you are, though not nearly as powerful and magnificent as you?"

Her question humored Smaug and he couldn't help but let out a chuckle feeling amused by that curiosity. "I do doubt that you shall become as powerful and as fierce as I am, but you have indeed become stronger. The way you used your Dragon Sight as well as your fire-wielding was indeed proof of your increased strength when using your powers. However, you must do something about your issue of losing consciousness whenever you exert that much power." He then lifted up his head to turn and face the mountain entrance with a serious glare and said softly, "Especially now while your pursuers are somewhere nearby."

The Elvish Princess covered her mouth and gasped softly as she stared with surprise knowing fully well what he uttered softly. "But," she began to ask as she lowered her hands, "how do you know that they are down there, Lord Smaug?"

"I have caught their scent this past evening," the Fire Drake responded as he looked down back at her still with a serious gaze. "As you rested, I caught their scent and went out onto the cave entrance's ledge to detect their location. It was successful as I have discovered that they are some distance away within the valley below but still able to be within my mountain's view. There should be no doubt that they are attempting to hatch another foolish scheme to invade my domain and claim you as before."

"But, that would just be leading them to their deaths if they should ever attempt such a thing again whilst you're around," Vanya replied strongly. "They know now what sort of destructive and incredible power you possess and that you can come in swiftly and destroy them with little effort. Not only that, but as you've said I have become stronger though my natural abilities do seem to have been weakened. However, there is no doubt that the odds are indeed against them if they think that they will be successful in this wicked scheme of theirs."

"That may be true, but there was something about their scent that began to trouble me," Smaug replied as he lowered his head until it was above hers.

"What would trouble you so from those filthy Orcs?"

The Fire Drake closed his eyes for a moment then opened them again staring down at her with a softened look. "When I caught their scent, it seemed to have an identical one as the one who acquired from the dark being you encountered. You once said that these particular Orcs must have been of the Morgul variety of the Southeastern lands and this dark being who attacked you came from the same place. In my years, I have heard once about those filthy Orcs being involved with a being so dark and evil that it had spread across this world. If the one who gave you these Dragon-like powers is indeed from the same lands as these filthy Orcs, then…."

"Then perhaps this dark, Dragon-like being who attacked me could also be of Morgul origin," Vanya uttered in hesitation, looking down into the flames somberly.

Smaug nodded his head and stared down at her silently for a moment while he watched her sink that information into her mind. "That might be true, but for now it should matter little and shouldn't worry you so," he said to her with a gentle yet stern glance. "These intriguing powers that this dark creature had bestowed upon you have now made you more dangerous to your enemies. For as long as I have been drawing breath, I have never heard of any Elf nor any Peoples of this world who have these abilities. This may be why this filthy Orc pack is pursuing you, but soon THEY shall be the ones who will be hunted down mercilessly. For no matter what sort of scheme or dark plot they might have, they will be to no avail whilst I still have the power to destroy their wretched race."

The Elvish Princess stared up at him listening carefully and found herself unable to avert from his piercing gaze. Despite him appearing slightly gentler, she could feel as if it was his Dragon Spell ability that was strongly at work. All at once, she felt all of her concerns and fears fade away and newfound confidence and strength took their place. "No doubt that you would be able to end their lives with all your power and your fierce magnificence," she told him confidently. "If not by your powerful flames, your armor is invulnerable and your claws and fangs indeed make formidable and lethal weapons." It was at that moment that she heard her stomach growl and looked down sheepishly and chuckled nervously. "I guess it's dinner time for me," she said with a chuckle, grabbing hold of her satchel and pulling out a large piece of Lembas bread and her water pouch.

"Indeed," Smaug chuckled smirking as he lifted up his head until his long, serpentine neck had it arched above hers as she ate. "However, it almost sounded as if you were attempting your flattery on me, which I know that you are well aware of how futile that is."

Before she spoke, she gulped down the last piece of the Lembas bread before taking at least five sips of water then sighed happily. "I speak only the truth, My Lord Smaug though I know it does sound much like flattery," she said letting out a soft chuckle. But at that moment, a thought entered her mind and that caused her to become a bit concerned once more. "If I may ask you an interesting question."

"Ask your question."

Vanya took a deep breath and looked up to him both with concern and seriousness in her lovely green eyes. "Well, if it does end up happening that those Orcs are successful in taking me, what would you end up doing? What I mean is…."

"Would I come and save you if you end up being captured by those filthy creatures," Smaug quickly answered with a snort. "Do not get any ideas. The purpose of these training days are for you to become stronger and to resist any means of capture from your foes. You can only blame that on your foolishness if that should ever occur, so do no assume that I shall always come to your rescue. I guard my domain and all that resides within it, and never will I allow any trespassers to make claim to any of it. Is that understood?"

"I understand, and I know that you are indeed right as always," Vanya said sighing heavily as she looked down into the flame. "I would no doubt blame myself if I do end up captured by those Orcs, and that would only be that I didn't train hard enough. I am an Elf, and they have always been known to be skilled warriors amongst all the Peoples in Middle Earth." She then chuckled and looked back up at him with a warm smile before she uttered, "Maybe that is something that Elves and Dragons have in common. That may be the only thing that our two races have that's similar, but I do believe that at least means something."

The Fire Drake only chuckled as a smirk spread across his face feeling amused by her while he coiled his tail around Vanya's bed. "Perhaps, though that is an interesting way of thinking about it, wrong it may be," he said amusingly. "However, you need not concern yourself about it right now as night has fallen and you will need your rest. Tomorrow will be the final day for you to train before I leave once again to hunt, but until then I will show you one final place within my mountain. That will be where our 3-day training schedule finally concludes for now while also a place where you may restore the water to your pouch."

"Is there really such a place atop this majestic peak, Lord Smaug? You truly have claimed such a marvelous place as your own, haven't you?"

"Indeed. This area resides upon the other end of this peak but is inaccessible to any outside intruders due to its formidable walls. It is one of the many reasons that I have claimed this mountain for my own, and I always protect that which is mine."

"My Lord Smaug," Vanya asked softly while she returned her empty leaf and water pouch back to her satchel, "would that include me as well? For what you protect, I mean?"

"What do you think," Smaug replied as he lowered his head down upon the stone floor of the chamber watching her. Before he gave her time to answer, he chuckled and let out a snort of amusement staring at the slightly concerned look on her face. "But, for now you must sleep and recover your strength after the events of today but we shall discuss this more in due time."

"Yes, and pleasant dreams My Lord Smaug," Vanya told him before letting out a loud yawn and laying back down upon her bed. She was a bit surprised by his answer even before she was able to ask another question, but it was alright to her. She rested her head down and before she knew it, the weariness she felt before returned and she soon feel fast asleep.

Smaug continued to look upon her amused but soon realized that she had indeed intrigued him more than he could have imagined. He had never before known of any being he had been this interested in more than Vanya herself had done in his life. On the one side, he was fascinated by her dragon-like powers especially from how she had used them earlier. On the other hand, however, he was bothered by emotions that he felt like he shouldn't have had before: compassion. Smaug, the most feared Fire Drake of the Northern lands in all of Middle Earth…caring for an Elf and a She-Elf of all things? He, who struck fear in the hearts of all Peoples and he who can cause other creatures to avoid him to protect themselves. However, these thoughts both troubled him but at the same time was amused and he chuckled softly to himself while shaking his head. In all his years, Vanya had been the only one who he had ever encountered who he had actually spoken to with interest. Soon, after about an hour of watching her sleeping form beside him, Smaug found himself falling asleep as well. 'Perhaps you are indeed the treasure within my mountain,' he thought as he slept.

 **(Editor's Note: I'm sorry that it has been a long time since I've posted another chapter to this. I have been busy with personal matters and other story projects that I am working on as well as working on Part Two of The Dragon and the Elvish Princess. I am continuing on this story as this is one of my most promising stories I have ever done. Chapter Eight is soon completed and I promise that it will be an action packed one and soon the rest of Part One of this story will be completed as well. I only ask that you all remain patient as the ending of this story's first part will be a most exciting one. Thank you all for taking your time to read my story and for giving me great reviews as they help me improve and continue to write as it is one of my biggest passions.)**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

It was another warm, sunny morning as the sun began its ascent over the world and the Northern Mountains. There were only a few small white clouds joining the sun that morning as they flew gently across the sky over the mountains. As if it had become the normal wake-up method, the warm morning breeze once again blew into the peak and tickled Smaug's nostrils causing him to wake. He rose up his head and sniffed the air and still could detect the scents of both the Orc pack and their Wargs nearby but chose to belay them. He knew that there was not much they could do while he remained around his domain, but the fact that they continued to linger near his mountain bothered him. Not only that, only a single day remained before he had to leave to hunt and he'd have to leave the She-Elf behind once again. He did not know how far he would have to travel or how long he would be away, but knew that the day's training was the most crucial of all. He looked down upon his sleeping Elvish companion and snorted softly knowing well that they had much work to do. "It is time to awaken," he said with a low tone.

Vanya opened her eyes slowly and sat up stretching her arms out wide with a yawn for a moment before she lowered them. "Good morning, Lord Smaug."

"I trust that you have been well rested over the course of the night?"

"Yes," Vanya told him as she took a moment to think about if she could recall any sort of frightening moments from her dreams. "I did not have any nightmares last night, which I am truly grateful for and it does make me feel slightly more relaxed. However, I still can't help but think about that terrible nightmare from before…and the fears I had during it."

"Yes…about those filthy wastes of life laying siege on your home and people and destroying all you hold dear. Correct?"

Vanya froze in fear just from Smaug uttering those words like that and sat there motionless for a moment staring down at the ground. She knew that, since she was first banished, that she feared for the safety of her father, her people and her home terribly. Not only that, but just the thought of any harm befalling them shook her up though her greatest wish was that it would never come to pass. She let out a heavy sigh and looked up at the Fire Drake with worry in her eyes and upon her face's expression. "Yes. I know that I should not fret so greatly over this when I know fully well that my home is well hidden and protected. But, even with that said, all Elves know that the forces of evil and darkness always try to extend their reach. I fear that it shall only be a matter of time before the dark forces that are after me will locate and destroy everyone I have ever loved and cherished."

"That may be possible, but as you've just now stated there is no need to truly fear of this coming to pass. Instead," he began to say as he rose his massive body up and turned towards the training tunnel, "focus now on your training for today. I would very much like to see these famous Elvish skills that you were born with up against my naturally born abilities. This shall be your most difficult training day and much needed to be so as this will be the last day before I leave to hunt. Come! Let us make our way to the training area and we shall see what you are indeed truly capable of."

"Yes, my Lord Smaug." Vanya rose up off of her bed and quickly followed closely behind him as the two made their way through the tunnel. Only a few minutes passed before they found themselves at the fork but instead of travelling to the chamber from the previous days they walked down the left path. She was confused as to why they were taking a different way as her last training sessions were both in the same location. But, she knew well not to question Smaug and trusted that he had his reasons for taking them down this path. They were only halfway through the tunnel before she remembered their brief discussion during the night. "Lord Smaug, I was wondering something about this new path that you are taking us," she asked curiously as she looked up from his right shoulder.

Smaug paused for a moment and turned his long, serpentine neck slightly so he could look down upon her keeping his head raised. "Yes?"

"Well, will this be the place you told me about last night where you said will be the setting for our last day of training?"

"You shall see soon enough if you continue to follow me and ask no more questions," was all his response was to her before facing forward again and continued walking.

Vanya only nodded silently as she followed closely once again as she did not wish to bother him with any more questions. They had only gone further for a few minutes more before the first rays of sunlight could be seen at the end of the tunnel. As the two of them drew closer, the light became brighter and brighter causing Vanya to shield her eyes as they approached the exit. Upon arriving, a small white cloud floated by the sun covering it just enough for both of them to see what laid before them. To the Elvish Princess' amazement, it was a beautiful rocky alcove that was twice the width of Smaug's sleeping cave. Along its outer rim were towering stone walls that rose to half of the dragon's full height while the sun shone above. Numerous large boulders scattered across the floor that were nearly Vanya's height but much wider than her. Alongside the right wall close to the entrance, roaring nearly as loud as a dragon, was a mighty waterfall which flowed down the mountainside through a small crack in the wall overflowing the small rocky pool it flowed into. The sunlight hit the water and made it glisten like diamonds, Vanya observed, that made it more beautiful in appearance. The Elvish Princess took a few steps into the alcove to take in this amazing sight and was struck with awe much like how it was in the training chamber. "Wow, this is incredible Lord Smaug," she said in awe without taking her eyes off of the alcove surrounding them. "I know I have said this before, but you really have taken the most magnificent mountain in all the Withered Heath for yourself. Haven't you?"

"Indeed," Smaug answered as he made his way onto the far side of the enclosed alcove smirking his usual smirk. "Here will be our training field for today as well as a safe outdoor space for you to refill your water away from danger. But, do you know of what our training will be for this final day?"

Vanya's awe-struck feelings went away once she heard his question as she remembered why they came there. She looked around curiously at the terrain trying to understand why it would be their battleground for the day. From the rock wall surrounding the alcove to the large boulders scattered about in strategic places around them. 'Boulders lined around this area in specific places,' she thought, 'almost like if I could….' It was then that she finally understood and turned to face Smaug with the wisdom she gained in that moment. "I know why it is that you have brought me out here," she said confidently.

"Do you now?" Smaug smirked his usual smirk as he lowered his head until it was above hers and growled softly.

"Yes," Vanya nodded to him. "You said before that I needed to work more on my Elvish abilities as I have not yet had the chance to use them. For the last few days you guided me more on gaining more control over my dragon-like abilities to use against foes. However, my natural skills were numbed down such as my agility, stealth and also to use my own Elf senses in battle. With such terrain around us, there is no doubt in my mind that is exactly what you intended for me with today's training. Is that correct?"

But the dragon only chucked as his eyes briefly illuminated as he began to walk over to the other side of the alcove. "Indeed. You are very clever for a She-Elf, though I'm not going to just watch you train to improve your natural skills. For today's training, I shall attack you with all my weapons except for my flame to test your natural reflexes. Your challenge is to use everything in your surroundings to your advantage as you evade each and every one of my attacks. Is that clear?"

Vanya was surprised for a moment but then prepared herself by suddenly leaping onto a large boulder nearby and faced him. "Understood, Lord Smaug. Show me everything that you've got and you'll see what I'm capable of," she told him confidently.

"Good. Then, let us begin," the Dragon replied with a chuckle as he relit his inner furnace and his eyes burned with intensity. He then lifted up his massive body and with a swift swing thrusted his mighty tail forward towards the She-Elf. He did not want to waste any time with the day's training and his patience to see Vanya's natural Elvish abilities grew thin. What were these skills that she was capable of she mentioned, he wondered and was determined to find out.

Vanya saw his tail coming and quickly leaped away in the nick of time towards her right to land on a different. As she landed, she had to block herself from the shattered fragments of the boulder she was on that Smaug's tail destroyed. But, she didn't have much time to admire the sheer power of it as his tail swung again towards her causing her to leap to her right to dodge. This time, she rolled out of the way and behind a larger and more slender boulder just to catch her breath and assess the situation. 'Talk about a close call. He's truly going hard into this day's training for some reason and I don't even think he's started yet. I'd better be more careful,' but her thoughts were disrupted by a large forelimb coming down above her and she had to quickly roll out of the way. As she watched, Smaug's claws dug deep into the boulder and crushed it and swept the pieces away from her. She stood up and faced him making herself prepared for his next move and realized she wasn't prepared for what was next. An open mouth full of sharp, swordlike teeth came directly at her with great speed and nearly chomped down upon her. Fortunately, Vanya leaped up into the air and landed after 5 skilled backflips back onto the ground, away from the Dragon's jaws and sighed with relief.

"You are quite skilled in dodging my attacks, but are you prepared for THIS," Smaug shouted as he rose his body up and flapped his mighty wings hard.

Vanya quickly shielded her face with her arms and lowered herself towards the ground just to maintain her footing, letting out strained grunts as she endured Smaug's move. Never has she experienced such powerful gusts of wind in her life, especially coming from the might of a Dragon's wings. At that moment she knew that she needed to find some cover before she found herself blown away by him. She looked around and saw two boulders alongside each other close to the water and thought that was her best chance. She kept herself low as she ran swiftly towards them trying hard not to let Smaug's gusts blow her off course determined not to fail. However, just at that moment, a strong crosswind blew over Smaug's peak and combined with his gust making it even stronger. Vanya was close to the boulders until the wind caught her and she found herself being blown close to the top of the rocky wall of the alcove. She reached out, desperately maintaining her grip tightly onto the stone with all her might but grew fearful as she struggled to hang on. She knew that if she lost her hold she would plummet to the ground below and that would have certainly been the end of her.

Smaug, who was just as surprised by the sudden crosswind blowing by, ceased his flapping and saw Vanya's plight. Without hesitation he raced over with great speed and with his long tail, swooped it under her to end her falling. However, he saw that she was about to lose her grip so, with his serpentine neck, grabbed hold of Vanya by the back of her shirt. He was very careful not to let his teeth dig into her flesh for he knew that they would have shredded her with ease. As soon as he knew he had a good grip on her, the Great Fire Drake lifted her up and returned her gently to the alcove floor then released just as she laid on the ground. At that moment, however, the crosswind finally stopped and the air was calm and breeze gentle once again.

Vanya laid there catching her breath, unable to comprehend what had just transpired but very grateful for being safe. She was only on the ground for a few moments before she heard the low growling hiss from behind her and turned to see Smaug looking down at her. His face was only 10 feet up in the air away from hers and his eyes were now more gentle and dimmed slightly.

"Have you sustained any injuries and wish to end today's training," Smaug asked as he faced her curiously.

Vanya sat there for a moment, but then rose to her feet after a deep breath and looked on at him strongly and fiercely. "My lord, I have not yet begun to show you what I can do and I am still able to keep going with the training. I'll be fine, so please continue to not make it easy for me, alright," she told him feeling more confident.

The Fire Drake laughed and sneered as he raised his head while his eyes returned to their previous glow and his furnace relit. "Then, let the training continue," he commanded in a loud voice as he suddenly swung his right forelimb claws toward her.

Vanya smirked a little as she dodged his swiping claws to the right and quickly jumped up onto a nearby boulder once again. This time, she didn't waste time as she swiftly leaped from boulder to boulder until she was behind him. However, she was able to see his tail swinging quickly towards her to knock her off but she was prepared. Vanya ducked down and rolled out of the way just as Smaug unleased another one of his claw swipes at her directly. Without hesitation, she timed it correctly and jumped high above his swipe and landed back onto the ground 5 feet away. Suddenly, she saw the intense open jaws coming towards her once again but this time she had a risky plan in mind. She ran up, leaped above the Dragon's jaws and landed on his top jaw just before she backflipped up high upon the tallest boulder. The force of that landing caused his jaws to snap shut, which Smaug was genuinely surprised by, and faced the Dragon with her confident gaze.

Smaug was indeed impressed by the She-Elf's maneuvers as he raised up his head and looked upon her eye to eye. 'She has spirit,' he thought, 'that I can see. Her speed and evasiveness is impressive for an Elf and her ability to dodge my attacks shows keen reflexes. But, let's just see how long she can keep this up before the day is over.' He gave her a smirk and chuckled while he stood straight up and raised up his mighty tail into the air behind him. "Are you still prepared to continue on?"

Vanya smirked in reply and crouched down on the top of the boulder prepared for anything Smaug would throw at her. "You know I am, so let's keep going," she told him feeling more confidence in herself than ever before.

"Very well. Let us continue!"

With that, the Dragon and the Elvish Princess continued on with their intense training for the rest of the day. There was not a single moment that Smaug went easy on Vanya and really pushed her limits of her Elvish skills. Vanya, who grew more and more confident in herself and her natural abilities, continued on with confidence and sheer will. Without either of them taking notice, the sun began its afternoon descent and the air became cool and crisp. It wasn't until a gentle breeze blew by before both finally realized how the day sped by and that evening was upon them. The two of them finally stopped training and found themselves resting on the alcove surrounded by broken boulders. Only a single handful of boulders remained in once piece while the others were scattered about everywhere on the ground. While the inner furnace and eyes of Smaug dimmed back to normal, Vanya sat down on a small, flat stone beside the waterfall.

"What a day," Vanya said in a sigh as she bent down to take some handfuls of the clear blue water to drink. The taste of it felt pure and refreshing and not just quenched her thirst but made her feel relaxed and rejuvenated as well. "That feels so much better and this water is delicious, as did that intense training we just went through. I've never felt stronger and more confident in myself as I did today," she said as she smiled at Smaug, "though I know I'm nowhere near as powerful as you."

"Yes, you indeed showed great progress and excellent skills for an Elf," Smaug replied as he lowered his head towards her. "However, I do seem to recall that you were in real trouble at one point during the training that you felt unsure."

"Yes, I thought that I would fly right off of the alcove and plummet to my death in the valley down because of that crosswind combining with your wing gusts. I know that I only survived that because of you coming to my rescue which I am eternally grateful for." Vanya turned to face the water for a moment and stared at her reflection before staring up at the Dragon curiously. "My lord, are you not going to take a drink yourself for I'm sure that you must be parched from these past three days."

"You need not be concerned about me and any desire for water," Smaug replied with a loud snort, "for I only drink when I must. Now, I suggest we return to the sleeping chamber as it is time for us to rest for the night," he told her as he rose his body off the ground.

"Yes, my lord Smaug."

With that, the two rose to their feet and began their way back to the sleeping chamber ready to call it a night. Neither spoke a word as they travelled through the tunnel or even when they finally arrived at the chamber. Fatigue and exhaustion soon gripped both of them from the intensity of the day's training which they felt strongly. Smaug lowered himself in his usual sleeping position coiled up while Vanya laid herself onto her bed. She felt more exhausted as she did not eat nor drank and within moments both of them fell fast asleep. However, later that night, Vanya found herself awake and sat up in her bed silently and looked over at Smaug's sleeping form. Strange as it was for her, she never truly realized just how peaceful and yet so fierce a dragon could be. But, something troubled her and prevented her from falling back into peaceful slumber at that moment. So, without so much as a peep, she rose out of her bed, snuck past Smaug, and began to make her way back to the alcove. It did not take her long for she used her enhancing Dragon Sight to navigate through the dark tunnel until she arrived within minutes.

Outside, the night air was both chilling yet pleasant and the sky was like a velvet curtain clear and beautiful with the stars shining like diamonds. The moon shone brightly above the alcove and caused the waterfall to glitter like the stars above and the pool below reflecting the beauty of the night sky. Feeling briefly at peace, Vanya walked over and sat down on the rock she rested on before and gazed up without a word. Yet, despite the peace and serenity the night sky provided her, she knew that her heart and mind were still troubled.

"Feeling trouble, are you?"

Vanya gasped loudly and quickly turned towards the entrance and saw Smaug standing within the entrance staring at her. She watched in surprise as he lumbered out and then laid down his massive body like in his sleeping position and faced her. "Lord Smaug, what are you doing out here?"

"That is what I would ask you for it was you who snuck out of the sleeping chamber," Smaug replied with a chuckle as he lowered his head to her level. His eyes, to Vanya, shone with a gentle light yet neither anger nor irritation were seen within them which felt nice.

The Elvish Princess chuckled softly feeling relaxed that it was him and took a moment to smile at him before returning her gaze at the sky. "Forgive me for disturbing your slumber, my Lord. I found myself trouble and just needed a few moments out here to get some fresh air and some time to clear my head."

"What for, may I ask?"

Vanya looked down into the pool and saw the troubled look on her face through her reflection before she faced somberly at him again. "I just began thinking of home again and suddenly I began to worry about your departure upon the morning. I just…..I cannot shake this terrible feeling that something awful is going to happen when you leave again. Whether it is because of the Orc pack or of something else, I do not know which, but this feeling of dread will not stop plaguing my heart. It is these feelings of dread that is keeping me from falling back asleep, so I thought that I would come out here so I may find some comfort just as I had done back home whenever I felt troubled. However, back then, it was either coming out to stare into the night sky or speak with my father about what bothered me."

"I see, and since you are not able to speak to your father here you decided that you would come out here instead. However, did you think it wise to venture out here alone knowing well that your enemies are somewhere down below?"

Vanya looked down momentarily thinking deeply for a moment considering what he had just asked. "I…..I thought that this would be more of a safer place than if I had decided to stargaze outside the main entrance to your mountain." She then looked up at him attempting to smile softly at him shifting herself so she would be more comfortable on her rock chair. "After all, you said so yourself that this alcove is basically a safe place and inaccessible to any outdoor intruders. Isn't that correct, Lord Smaug?"

"I did indeed say that this place would be safe, however I have learned that one should never lower their guard. Even the very safest of places can become invaded if one does not keep their senses sharp at all times. That is why, as in my blood as a Dragon, I fight fiercely to protect all that is in my possession no matter the opponent. From all this training I have placed you through during these past few days I am sure that you manage on your own. Never forget, however, that in any true dire circumstance you can signal for my help but I trust that you know to do so as a last resort."

Vanya felt comfort and encouragement from his wisdom and intelligence though she never thought that they would be so. That was until she met Smaug and realized that he truly must be a one-of-a-kind Dragon amongst his own kind. "I never forgot that the signal is only to be used when all other options are spent and I will heed your words next time I venture out here. However, my Elf senses are very tuned to the feelings and sounds of the evening as well as the light from the stars above. From before and even now, that still brings me comfort….as well as being in your company, Lord Smaug. Because somehow, it makes me think that I am back home if only for a moment and that is very relaxing to me."

Smaug let out a snort and shook his head slightly from her sentiments but soon found himself gazing up at the sky trying not to show emotion. "Do not be so sentimental with me, though I myself have found looking at the starts soothing in spite of myself."

Vanya looked up at him surprised but then smiled warmly as she gazed back up at the sky still feeling comforted. There was a long, peaceful moment of silence between the two of them while they stargazed together. At one point, they witnessed several shooting stars brightly zooming past across the sky high above the alcove. The Elvish Princess looked on in awe at Smaug and his magnificence in the moonlight and then looked away taking a deep breath. "The Woods of Núathin Beleriand."

"What did you say," Smaug asked suddenly in surprise as he looked down at her after she broke the silence.

"That is where my people used to reside in until the war of the First Age ravaged and destroyed it. My village are the last remnants of those ancient Elves who now have taken refuge somewhere far to the north in secret. We wish only to remain in peace but know well that we must continue trying to keep the Orcs under control. We try all this without revealing our village's exact location which we work hard to keep secret from all who may try to find it. It was from the far north that I have travelled and I realize now just how far I have come being so far away." At that point, Vanya let out a loud yawn covering her mouth as she did so now feeling drowsiness coming over her. "I feel now that I trust you enough to tell you…..," but she soon found herself falling asleep as she nearly dropped into the pool beside her.

Smaug reached out his right claw and caught her in time and chuckled he lowered his head further smiling. "Come. I shall take you back to the sleeping chamber for now it seems like you are ready once again to rest," he said softly. He then lifted her up and placed her gently upon his neck before lifting himself off the ground turning to face the entrance. He walked slowly and carefully back towards the chamber being careful not to drop his sleeping passenger. Once they arrived back, he lowered his body down enough beside Vanya's bed where he used his neck down and gently returned her to her bed. Once he knew that she was alright and watched her sleeping peacefully with a smile he moved back to his sleeping spot. He coiled his tail around the firepit and her before he lowered his head down and stared at her smirking. 'She revealed to me the direction of her hidden village,' he thought amused, 'and yet she was wise not to disclose the exact location. Not that an Elvish village would be of any value to me or be worth any of my time hunting or otherwise. Still, I find it amusing that she would trust the likes of me enough to tell me that kind of important information.' Soon he raised his head again and stared intensely out towards the tunnel leading to the main mountain entrance. 'But, I know that those filthy Orcs and their pitiful pets are still out there and no doubt they will make another attempt to enter and claim her for themselves. It is only a matter of time before they do and if they do….then DEATH shall be their unjust reward for their foolishness. This She-Elf is mine and mine alone,' he told himself determined as he lowered his head down and fell asleep shortly after.

'This She-Elf is mine and mine alone….and NO ONE shall ever take her away from me.'


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

The sun rose the next morning high above the horizon, its light giving the mountains and valley below a golden hue that increased its beauty. Like the days before, the sky was clear though the sunrise appeared to be on fire from the various colors the sunrise gave. It was at this time that Smaug had emerged from his cave ready to hunt once again as he stood there on the ledge. He scanned around the area using both his sight and his smell to locate the Orc pack down below in the valley. Suddenly, he picked up Vanya's scent and turned to face the entrance to discover her standing behind him. "Hmm? Well now, what brings you out here this early in the morning," he asked both curiously and cautiously. "You know as well as I that your pesky pursuers are somewhere down below ready to spring at any time."

Vanya stood there staring up at him with a concerned gaze but then closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "I know, but I wanted to see you off but also ask you to promise me something important."

"What is it?"

The Elvish Princess placed her right hand against the entrance's rocky wall and her left hand over her heart and gave him a serious stare. "I understand that you may have to travel a great distance away while you hunt. But please….promise me that you will return as soon as you can and that you'll return safe and sound!"

Smaug was genuinely surprised by her sudden outburst of a promise but overcame his brief shock and let out a soft snort. "You have no need to fear about that, She-Elf. I am strong enough to overtake even the toughest enemies and conquer any challenges. I always return to protect what is mine and no one thus far has ever taken anything from me," he declared strongly. At that moment, he raised up his wings and spread them out wide before he flapped them hard to become airborne but remained in place in the sky by a dozen feet. As he hovered, he looked down with a serious gaze at his guest who appeared worried for him down below. "I shall see you in 3 days' time if not sooner, and in the meantime do not let your guard down and remember your training," he declared. He then flapped his wings harder and soared up higher into the sky taking a moment to scan the valley one last time. There was a part of him that did not wish to leave knowing that the Orcs may try their capture attempt again while he was away. But, his hunger could no longer be contained and he must have sustenance before too long so he looked down at Vanya one last time before he flew off to the East.

Bracing herself from the strong winds caused by Smaug's wings, Vanya looked on as he flew away and squeezed her hand over her heart. 'I wish you good hunting and safe return, Lord Smaug. The moment that she was no longer able to see him she turned with a heavy sigh and returned back inside. Minutes later, she arrived back into the sleeping chamber where she sat down upon her bed and gazed into the fire for a few moments. "Three days without Lord Smaug…..I hope nothing bad happens within those days. With those terrible Orcs out there, who knows what will happen," she told herself, never knowing that soon something terrible would be happening.

Down in the valley below, the Orc pack prepared to emerge out of their hiding place and into Smaug's peak. They all went out quietly, Orc and Warg alike, and approached the base of the mountain before stopping. As their mounts waited down below, the Orcs began to swiftly scale up the slope with only one goal in mind: to capture their elusive She-Elf. The Orc leader, who was more than determined to get his hands on her, climbed up before the rest of his troops feeling that this time he would finally succeed in capturing her. Within a few agonizing minutes, the Orcs were finally at the entrance into the mountain but knew that now came the difficult part. The leader took a moment before entering, sniffed the air and snarled with a wicked grin and a sinister gleam in his eyes. "I can smell her inside that beast's cave," he told his fellow Orcs gleefully as he faced them, "and that creature has finally left. Now is our time to finally claim our prey that we have been hunting for all this time and this time we will prevail. However, let us not lower our guard for even a moment as she may have gotten stronger and more difficult to capture. We may have to knock her unconscious and bind her before we can finally take her, but once we do then we can finally return to the fortress. Now," he said as he turned and led his pack down the entrance tunnel, "let us finally capture our beautiful and elusive She-Elf." As they went deeper into the mountain, they moved forward cautiously holding out their blades and bows tightly in their hands. The leader sniffed the air every few steps for the scent of Vanya, using that to track her down through the darkness. At long last, he stopped his pack and looked on ahead smiling with wicked glee for their prey was finally within sight. 'Ah, finally there she is,' he thought smiling, 'sitting by the fire completely unaware that we are so close. Soon….you shall be mine.'

But Vanya's sharp Elvish hearing was able to pick up the faint sounds of light footfall coming up the tunnel towards her. She knew well that it was no Dragon coming through and remembered that Smaug had left to go hunting. So, after exhausting all other options in her mind, she realized that the only other living things in the valley were the Orcs and Wargs. She quickly stood up from her bed and stared intensely out into the darkened tunnel balling up her fists and preparing to fight. "I know you're there, Orc scum! Come on out," she demanded as she raised up her right arm, "and this time I'm ready for you!"

The Orc leader emerged first from the tunnel into the firelight with a devilish sneer, his blade gripped tightly in his left hand. "We shall see about that, She-Elf." Irritated from the lack of movement from his pack, he turned and faced them glaring angrily. "Don't just stand there you fools," he shouted in Black Speech as he turned back and pointed at Vanya, "GET HER!"

But Vanya, prepared for their attack, didn't give them a chance to strike first as she waved her hands forward in front of her. When she did, the fire from the pit shot down onto the ground toward the Orcs then rose up around them creating a strong firewall. From behind it, she could hear the shrill shrieks of the Orcs as they jumped back trying to avoid the flames. 'Now is my chance to make a break for the secret training chamber,' she thought quickly turning and swiftly making her way down the tunnel. 'I must warn Lord Smaug about this immediately,' she told herself as she fled, 'but I do hope that firewall lasts long enough to reach it.'

Watching furiously as his solders stood facing the firewall like cowards, the leader snarled loudly at them drawing his sword. "QUIT YOUR BELLYACHING," he snapped as he glared at each one of the Orcs before pointing his sword in the direction Vanya fled. "I will not allow our quarry to escape, I WILL have her conscious or not and nothing is going to stand in my way of that!" With that, he stared intensely at the firewall for a few moments before he let out a terrible howl and charged through the flames. At the sight of this, he turned and saw that his soldiers soon followed and the firewall dissipating once they made it through. Feeling smug, the Orc leader turned and faced the tunnel to which Vanya fled down and chuckled menacingly and softly. He took a moment, sniffed the air for her scent, and once caught he led his soldiers swiftly down the tunnel armed with their bows and swords.

Minutes went by as slowly as hours for Vanya as she fled down the darkened tunnel guided only by her Dragon Sight. At long last, she was able to reach the branching cross path where she stood wearily trying to catch her breath. But, she knew that she could not linger there long for she knew that her firewall wouldn't last forever and that she had to make haste. Soon, she could hear the sounds of heavy footsteps approaching fast through the darkness and she turned facing it cautiously. 'Impossible! They shouldn't have been able to catch up to me so quickly,' she thought as both fear and anger festered within her. She then turned back towards the path leading to the training cave and, with her breath back, continued fleeing down the tunnel. 'I must not let them reach me before I can signal Lord Smaug for help at the firepit or else…..all hope is lost. My training might have made me a bit stronger, swifter and more agile but still I don't think that I can handle all of them alone. I must get to the training chamber as quickly as I can before it's too late.'

Not long after Vanya fled down the tunnel, the Orcs arrived at the branching paths and were able to quickly pick up her scent. Without wasting any time, the raced down the tunnel with their leader signaling one of his archers to aim his bow as they fled. The archer Orc did as he was told, pulling out a dangerous poison-tipped arrow out of his quiver and aimed it carefully. He then shot it hoping that it would soon hit their target giving the Orcs a much needed advantage against their beautiful but dangerous adversary.

At that moment, Vanya continued to flee following Smaug's claw marks etched deep into the tunnel walls before looking on ahead. There, she was able to see the faint glow of the fire and realized that she was within feet of the training chamber itself. 'Finally. Now if I can only reach the,' but her thoughts were then interrupted as she yelled out in pain and agony. She could feel a sharp, agonizing pain in her right shoulder but gripped tightly to the cave wall to keep from collapsing onto the ground. As she looked over, she could see a pitch black arrow imbedded into her shoulder and a small stream of blood slowly leaked out of the wound landing onto the cave floor. In that instant, using her Dragon Sight, she was able to catch a faint glimpse of the Orcs closing in on her. Not wanting to waste another moment, she bared the pain from her shoulder as she continued less swiftly on into the chamber leaving a faint trail of blood. She was just about to reach the firepit in the center when suddenly….*WOOSH* another arrow flew past her face and into a nearby rock. Shocked by the sudden near-miss, she stood frozen in place feeling disbelief when the sound of approaching footsteps and terrible shrieking echoed in the chamber. "No," was all she could utter as she turned around to face the chamber's entrance but then wincing in pain from the arrow still deep in her shoulder. It was at that moment that she knew that soon she would have to fight against her foes all on her own, injured or not.

Much to the dismay of Vanya, the Orcs came in like a toxic wave, spreading themselves around the chamber surrounding her. While some gripped tightly to their bows armed with arrows, others including the leader gripped tightly to their sharpened swords. It was at this moment that the leader himself stepped forward aiming his weapon at the Elvish Princess and staring at her with a dark, menacing stare. "Give up now, She-Elf! You have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, and now you have found yourself hopelessly outnumbered."

But the Elvish Princess just glared at him and scoffed at his threats but then shifted her gaze at the surrounding Orcs. 'This isn't good. I will not be able to signal Lord Smaug with all of them here thwarting my attempts at doing so,' she thought. 'I guess I have no choice…I must put all my training from these past three days to the test and show them what I am capable of.' With that, she turned her fierce gaze back towards the leader and in an act of defiance she reached behind her back with her left hand. With one swift motion of her hand, she grabbed hold of the arrow and, in an agonizing yell, pulled the arrow clear out of her shoulder. Large specks of blood splattered about her as she did, and some tears rolled down her cheeks from the pain but still she did not dare to show weakness. "You…are not taking me," she told him breathing heavily, balling up her fists and glaring fiercely at the leader. "Not without a fight, and I will not surrender to you no matter what!" At that moment, she quickly rose her hands up commanding the fire from the pit to rise up into the air and prepared to attack. Though her wounded shoulder tried to slow her down, her determination to protect herself gave her extra strength to persevere. Without giving her foes a chance to strike, she swung her hands this way and that moving the fire like a wave and destroying the Orcs' bows and arrows with each movement. At other times, she would try to strike the Orcs themselves, but they would quickly dodge the flames yet she continued on with her onslaught.

Each Orc rolled and dodged the best they could from each attack as they kept attempting to approach Vanya. But, at each chance it was soon blocked by another flame strike and they were forced to evade once more. During this time, one of the unarmed archers ran swiftly to their leader who tucked behind a large boulder beside the entrance. "That She-Elf is proving to be quite the challenging quarry. No matter what directions we attempt to attack her from, she is able to evade us and strike back with that fire. I don't see how we are supposed to capture her if she still has all this power," but he was soon silenced by his leader's laughter.

"There is no need to worry," the leader told the archer smirking as he watched the fight continue. "The paralyzing agent of your poison from the arrow that you shot in her will soon take its powerful effect on her. Very soon, she shall finally be ours!"

Vanya continued her attacks as fiercely as she did when she trained with Smaug and thought that victory would soon be within her grasp. All of a sudden, as she went to raise up her right hand again, she suddenly realized that she was unable to. Within moments, the right side of her body became numb from shoulder down to her feet causing her to fall to the ground. "What-What is going on?!" She struggled frantically to lift herself up with her left side but found that her left side was also going numb. In that instant, she was completely helpless and watched as the flame returned to the pit before she heard wicked laughter. Struggling, she looked up and saw the Orc leader approaching her and kneel down beside her motionless body.

The Orc leader chuckled wickedly as he softly stroked the edge of his sword across Vanya's back and stared pleasantly at the wound on her shoulder. "Well now, isn't this a pleasant turn of events," he said as his voiced hissed in the Elf's ears like a venomous viper. "You gave us quite the irritating run there for some time, but now your time and luck has finally run out. Now, at long last after all these years," he told her as he grabbed the back of her head to make her face him, "you finally belong to me. To think, you spent all this time attempting to evade us and to gain enough strength to fight us…so futile was your efforts."

Wincing from the grip on her head from the head, Vanya glared at him as her eyes slowly reverted back to normal. However, without trying to draw attention, she desperately and softly waved her left hand hoping to send her signal to Smaug. Unfortunately, she was too weak from using up so much strength and her body became completely numb. To make matters worse, she felt a felt a jolt of pain go through the back of her neck and realized that she was struck by the leader. She looked over at him wearily but angrily but noticed that her vision began to blur but could hear his sinister laugh clearly.

"That was for my scout that you got killed three days ago," the leader hissed before looking over at his nearby archer. "Don't just stand there! Grab some rope and bind her hands together and be sure that it's good and tight so she cannot escape on our journey back."

Vanya winced more as she felt her hands being pulled tightly behind her back and bound while she began to slip in and out of consciousness. Once her hands were tied, she was the swung over the Orc leader's right shoulder and saw that they were leaving the training chamber. As they got further and further away, the flame from the pit appeared to grow smaller and smaller much like her strength dwindled. Struggling to remain conscious, she could vaguely see them traversing through the tunnels back to the sleeping chamber. They continued on through the tunnels and soon found themselves at the entrance to Smaug's mountain. The moment that they began descending down the slope, Vanya's heart sank further and further into despair. Finally, just as she was about to lose complete consciousness, she looked up at the mountain with teary, exhausted eyes. 'Please…by the power of the Valar….send Lord Smaug to come and save me,' she prayed to herself before she fainted.

When they finally reached the base, the Orcs' trusted Wargs waited patiently for them and soon approached when they returned. They all mounted except for the leader who first threw Vanya over the hump before he climbed up smiling wickedly. "Alright you scum, we're moving out back to the fortress to the West," he commanded turning to face his pack. With that, he gave a yell which caused his Warg to advance forward and charge away through the valley. At his command, the rest of the pack followed swiftly behind through the Northern Mountains, leaving Smaug's peak further and further away.

While the Orcs had hoped to return back to their fortress home by the following daybreak, with each foot travelled Vanya's heart sank deeper. During the terrible journey, the only thing that the Elvish Princess desired above all else was that Smaug would return to save her. She did not know where their final destination was or how long they would be travelling, but she knew that she was in grave danger. Danger that, in her current weakened state, she was unsure that she would be able to escape from all on her own.

As mysterious the magic in Middle Earth works at times, it was as if the Valar themselves were able to hear Vanya's prayers. As the Orcs carried her farther and farther away, her scent was caught by the wind through the valley back to Smaug's home. By the will of the Valar, the Elvish Princess' scent travelled far into the peak of the mountain until it reached the firepit within the training chamber. Then, only could be explained by magic itself, it combined with the flame which a bright spark rose out of the pit into the air. Once it had done so, as quickly as can be, it shot out of the opening of the chamber and travelled swiftly towards the East. Its only mission: to locate the dragon Smaug wherever he may be as he hunted and deliver to him a crucial message.

About 1000 leagues away to the East in a wide and barren field, Smaug was busy devouring a large Oliphant. The massive elephant-type creature was a bull whose size could almost be an equal match to Smaug himself. The great Fire Drake had to use all of his weapons to cause the beast to fall, but both the scent of the burnt flesh and the amount of meat pleased him greatly. 'What a fine feast this beast turned out to be,' he thought as he ate, figuring that a meal this size would satisfy him for months. It wasn't until he reached the last few bites before he picked up a familiar scent that caused him to stop slightly confused. "Hmm…..now what would that She-Elf be doing her and how did she get here so swiftly," he asked himself as he looked around for any signs of her. When he couldn't he grew more suspicious until he saw the flame spark swiftly approaching him from the West. When it stopped before him, the Dragon watched in amazement as it morphed into the form of Vanya looking desperate. 'Please…by the power of the Valar….send Lord Smaug to come and save me,' was what he heard the spark cry. In an instant, Smaug knew that she was in danger and without wasting any time swallowed the last mouthful of meat before taking off. Flapping his wings hard, he rose high into the air following the flame spark back to his peak leaving the large bare skeleton behind.

It was within the early evening and the sun was just behind the horizon before he returned and quickly followed the spark inside. But, the instant he began making his way through the tunnel, the scents of Orcs and Vanya were everywhere which angered him. Much like the spark of fire, he followed the scents through his mountain as they went down the tunnel beyond the sleeping chamber. As he went further and further in, he paused briefly before the training chamber where he looked down and smelled the scent of blood. ELF blood, which at that point his eyes began to burn with anger for that didn't please him but continued on into the chamber itself. The moment he entered, he could both see and smell that something had happened within the room figuring out what had transpired. The ashes of bows and arrows were scattered about the chamber, and the scent of Orcs filled the air which he smirked from slightly. Another thing that he noticed was that several of the boulders scattered about had deep burn marks across their faces. 'Hmm…..its seems like that She-Elf attempted to fight against those filth, but if that is true,' he asked himself looking about, 'where did they all go?' As if to answer his question, the spark hovered above the firepit and showed a vision of the Orc pack travelling to the West carrying an unconscious Vanya with them. Once it was finished, the spark quickly returned to a normal spark of fire and dropped into the firepit becoming a part of it once more.

Angered from what he had seen in the visions and what he had heard, Smaug's eyes grew brighter and snarled. Not only had intruders left their retched stench all throughout his mountain, but they had dared to steal from him. Furious, he turned around growling and stormed out of the chamber, through the tunnels and past the sleeping chamber. But as he walked, memories of himself and Vanya played in his mind and the promise she asked him to make echoed in his head. He would not dare to admit it, but a smidge of regret hit him as he did not truly promise her anything that morning. He would even go as avoid thinking that, just possibly in their short time together, he actually enjoyed having her around. Regardless of those feelings, he knew that he needed to seek vengeance against the Orcs who had entered HIS home. Within moments, he arrived at the cave entrance where upon stopping sniffed the air to locate the direction they had travelled. 'Hmm…..ah. So, those filthy Orcs and the She-Elf are indeed travelling West as that vision foretold. There can only be one place those usurpers would go and they have little over a day head start by this time. However,' he thought as he flapped his mighty wings hard rising high up into the air, 'they are fools if they think they can get ahead of ME.' He then swooped down into the valley spotting their tracks in the mud before rising up high past the cliff edge of his mountain. He stopped for a moment, hovering as he looked back down at the ledge and remembered when he first discovered Vanya. He also remembered that morning when she watched him leave with that sad look on her face, giving him extra yet secret initiative to go against the Orcs. He beat his wings hard once more and flew swiftly to the west with his eyes burning with rage and vengeance. 'Those Orcs shall know suffering for what they have done, and now DEATH shall be their bittersweet reward. They will soon understand that when one angers a Dragon…they will BURN!' He then let out might and furious roar that shook the ground and echoed menacingly throughout the Withered Heath. Minutes later, he flew away out of the Northern Mountains through the night towards the Orcs fortress….Gundabad.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Hours went by, though to Vanya it felt like days, before she finally regained consciousness as she lay on a cold, stone floor. For a brief moment, she thought that she was still within Smaug's mountain until her bound hands reminded her. She was attacked and then captured by the Orcs who had pursued her all that time and that they had taken her somewhere far away. She struggled with all her strength, weakened as she was, to sit up before trying to free her hands when she suddenly froze at the sound of wicked shrieks. She turned to look behind her where she was shocked to see hundreds of Orcs both on the floor where she lay and above atop dark stone ledges. The chamber she viewed was immense, five times as large as Smaug's sleeping chamber, lit by multiple bright lanterns that hung on iron chains across the walls. There were also many ledges scattered about connected only by strong bridges and ladders along with tunnels protruding through the stone leading who-knows-where. At the far end, Vanya observed several Orcs working on some horrendous torture devices which made her blood run cold. In the South end within a lower chamber, she could hear the snarls and howls of Wargs but was overlapped by the shrieks and cries of the Orcs. Each one of them varied in size but were all muscular and grotesque, several of which noticed her watching them and smirked and snickered at their prisoner. Across their backs or swinging at their sides were their weapons, sharpened blades and bows with quivers of numerous arrows. To Vanya, everywhere she looked, she could find no way to escape and saw that she was hopelessly outnumbered leaving her very vulnerable.

"Well now, isn't this nice? Our precious little Elvish Princess is finally awake and admiring her new home."

Vanya quickly whipped her head around to look behind her just as two pairs of strong hands grabbed hold of her arms. They pulled her roughly up to her feet and as she looked she realized that it was two tall muscular Orcs and their leader who sneered at her. "YOU! Who are you, where have you taken me and what do you want with me," she demanded glaring at the Orc leader.

The Leader only chuckled as he leaned in close to her face, holding up her chin with his left hand and smirked wickedly. "It seems that you have more strength in you than I thought, but it will no longer do you no good I'm afraid," he hissed. "You belong to me now….Wrock the Devastator, one of the leaders here in the fortress of Gundabad."

Vanya gasped in horror and at that moment both her blood and her heart went cold and her breath almost grew still. Ever since she was a young Elfling, her parents would tell frightful stories about the Orc stronghold and who once ruled it. To think that she was taken to such a terrible place where the Dark Lord himself had used to try and conquer Middle Earth frightened her greatly. She was about to respond angrily when a sudden sharp pain pierced through her body coming from her wounded shoulder. Vanya let out an agonizing cry winching in pain as she looked over and saw Wrock gripping onto it hard with his left hand. Despite how much she was hurting, she still dared to glare at him and let out a soft growl which was then received by a gleeful and wicked laugh.

"Aww, does your shoulder hurt," Wrock said sarcastically as he continued to squeeze her shoulder. "Do you know why that it does and why you can't do anything? It's because of the special paralyzing poison we used on the arrow that struck you, and its effect grew stronger the longer you kept it in. You brought this misery upon yourself, so now you can sit and enjoy all the pain, suffering and helplessness. After all," he smirked as he reached over behind his right shoulder and pulled out a covered sword sheath, "we wouldn't want you to have this back, now do we?"

At the sight of the sheath, Vanya gasped in shock realizing that, what he had in his despicable hands, was her mother's sword. She grew angry as she struggled to free herself from the Orc's grips and shook her head free from Wrock's grip on it. However, because of the poison's effects, her attempts of freedom ended up in vain yet she still tried hard to stay strong. "Return that at once! That was my mother's sword, the last thing I have to remember her by, and you have no right to have it in your wretched hands!"

Wrock smirked, paced back and forth before her never taking her eyes off as he was deep in thought about her words. "Your MOTHER'S sword, you say? Very interesting. Tell me, what was your mother's name, my dear She-Elf? Or, are you too much of a weakened coward to tell me such information?"

"Do not dare insult me, you scum! My mother…..her name was Beriana, and she….was the best mother I could have ever asked for," Vanya snapped.

But Wrock laughed hard as he ended his pacing and faced her still smirking and placed the sheath to its placement on his back. "Yes…I do seem to recall hearing that name from a long time ago. A lovely She-Elf who refused to surrender to a pack of Orcs who pursued her in order to make her obey us. Now, tell me…..do you recall how she died?"

"….She died while on the Road, and was ambushed by your disgusting kind. One of them had stabbed her through the back while her guard was down and that was what ended her life. But, that was over a hundred years ago when I was a small child."

"Indeed. She was very much a fool as any Race is in this world travelling down the Road alone, though she didn't stand much of a chance after the paralyzing poisoned arrow did its job."

Vanya grew silent.

"Would you like to know how I know that's what killed your mother? It's because," he leaned in close with a chuckle, "I'M the one who ordered her to be weakened by the arrow, just before I plunged my blade…..through…her….back."

With a furious and agonizing yell, Vanya lunged at him with all her strength making at least a step forward despite the guards' strong grip. Through her fury, her Dragon Sight managed to activate in full force as she glared at the Orc leader with great intensity. "YOU MONSTER! I don't care how you could have lived for that long…..but HOW DARE YOU do that to my mother! How could you do such a terrible thing?!"

Wrock took a step back, surprised by both her eyes and how she was able to take a step forward in her weakened state. However, it was the change in her eyes that intrigued him so and he smiled thinking how interesting this development was. "So, you are able to shift into Dragon eyes, are you? Fascinating….since this is what our Master wished to curse your beloved mother with when we went to pursue her."

"What are you talking about?"

"Our Master plans on using special Elves to receive a dark power in order to control them for our armies. He gave me longevity, longer than any of my Race, so that I may fulfill his task of claiming one of your Race. However, your mother, turned out to not be one of those special Elves so our Master commanded us to dispose of her. Imagine our surprise that it was her offspring that He detected those few years ago that would become our perfect target. So, once He was able to locate you, He sent us out to capture you after he inflicted you with His 'Dragon Curse'."

Vanya grew silent once more.

"Are you truly that surprised? Did you not think it so strange that, after your fearful encounter with a dark creature, you could control fire and gain those eyes? Those powers you gained were caused by the Dragon Curse, meant to turn those inflicted with it to Evil so they would be under our Master's control. He searched for you for a long time and when He did, He cursed you after disposing of your five guards then returned here. However, I did not expect to be hunting you down for over 3 years, which I'm sure that He is not happy about."

Vanya grew hesitant as her heart began to beat faster while she listened to Wrock's story reluctantly. She knew that she did not want to ask, but at the same time she knew that she demanded some answers. "Do you mean to tell me…that THING that attacked me….was your Master all this time? What kind of creature in this world possesses that kind of power that it can curse other Races like that?"

Wrock let out a wicked chuckle and leaned in close once more holding Vanya's chin forcing her to look into his eyes. "You, like all of your Race, should know well who it is that we serve," he hissed gleefully. "For we only serve…..The ONE as my Race has done since the very beginning of this world and shall continue to do so until Middle Earth fades. Do you understand now, my dear? Our Master will take any form He wishes to fulfill His desires until He at last regains His full strength, and for that He will need…..YOU."

Vanya stood there frozen with fear, as shock and silence overtook her and it seemed like all her strength vanished. At the mere mention of 'The One', she finally understood as all Peoples of Middle Earth knew who that was referring to. She had tried to convince herself that it couldn't be Him since He was defeated long ago, but deep down she knew the truth. She found herself released by the Orcs and dropped to her knees in shock and her eyes returned back to normal. "It can't be," she muttered softly to herself as she then began to fully understand at last why it was that her father and people had to banish her. "It was because of Him that all this had happened to me…..losing my mother, my home…all because of HIM!" She then threw her head up to glare at Wrock but was received only by a wicked sneer and chuckle so she looked back down. At that moment, it seemed like every last ounce of strength she once had was lost and found herself feeling nothing but despair. 'These powers….they really were nothing more than a curse after all,' she thought as she squeezed her eyes shut. A lone tear ran down her right cheek as she didn't know what to do, until suddenly she heard Smaug's voice echoing inside her mind reminding her of something he had told her some time ago.

'Perhaps, but then again, perhaps not. It will all depend on how you will use these powers that you were given from here on.'

Vanya suddenly opened her eyes gasping softly not knowing how she was able to hear his voice so clearly. But, hearing his voice gave her great comfort and remembering that she felt stronger from his words, intended encouragement or not. 'Lord Smaug…..,' at the moment she heard his voice, she began to feel her strength and courage return to her. Just then, the strong grip of the Orcs was felt once more and she found herself pulled back up onto her feet though she continued to face the floor.

"So now you see my dear," Wrock told her, "you don't really have much of a choice. It's quite simple as a decision: you can either join us in leading our Master's vast armies willingly, or you suffer endlessly until you do. By now you should have fallen under the dark influence of the Dragon Curse, and yet are still able to retain your goodness. So, how is it that you are not among the wicked?"

Vanya raised up her head to face him, her eyes shone with newfound courage that rivaled that of Wrock's wicked stare. "You are the fool who thinks that something as weak as a curse could ever bring me into the darkness. These 'special Elves' that you were seeking to convert to Evil, you speak of those like my mother and myself," she explained calmly, "those descended from the Valar themselves. They are what keep the darkness at bay within myself, but it has been my rigorous training to control these powers that has kept me strong. I owe much of that to the one who I have been living with, and who has been training and watching over me all this time. As soon as Lord Smaug discovers what you and your pack have done he will," but then she was interrupted by the sound of laughter.

"YOU are the one who's a fool. Do you think I don't know that you resided within a DRAGON'S cave all this time after what had happened to my scout? What's even more humorous is that you believe that Dragon will come and rescue you when they know nothing of compassion or honor? Their kind only thinks about greed, power and themselves, and this 'Smug' or whatever his name is probably is glad to rid his cave of you. You truly are a fool to think that any of that Race would come to the rescue of a She-Elf like yourself."

Vanya growled softly, not wanting to believe anything that he said about Smaug though deep in her heart she was aware of what Dragons were like. She was aware from what he said about them being greedy and craving power, but she knew that Smaug was so much more than that. At that time, like before, she could hear Smaug's voice echoing through her mind reminding her what he had said to reassure her.

'The fact of the matter is you interest me, which is the only reason I'm keeping you alive for the time being. … You may stay here with me as you wish and I will provide you with protection. …. I will never tolerate any intruders who would dare to enter here and take what is mine. ….. Do not think that I will ALWAYS come to your rescue every time you get attacked by your enemies. … I guard my domain and all that resides within it, and never will I allow any trespassers to make claim to any of it.'

Vanya's memories of him telling her those things made her think that Wrock was right but then she remembered something else. 'No, I made a promise that I would never question Lord Smaug and I intend to keep it,' she thought confidently. She then glared at the Orc leader once again now with more confidence and strength thanks to hearing Smaug's voice. "You're wrong about Lord Smaug! He is not some mindless, greedy or heartless beast like the rest of his kind as he is more wise and powerful than most. I have no doubts in my mind that he will seek vengeance upon you and your pack for what had happened in his mountain."

"Vengeance," Wrock amusingly asked, "for what may I ask? For taking an Elf who he would have no reason to rescue?"

"Perhaps he might not be coming here to save me," Vanya told him smirking back, "but I know that he will be seeking it against you for invading his mountain. Lord Smaug never tolerates any form of intruders and will not hesitate in destroying them for doing so. I may be the only exception he will ever have because of how my powers intrigue him, but when it comes to your filthy Race I have no doubts. Now, for what you have done, staining his mountain with your putrid stench, he will follow it and come to destroy you all. There will be nothing that you, your Orcs or even your foolish Master can do against him….NOTHING!" She was then smacked hard across the face letting out a painful yell before finding herself being thrown 3 feet towards the south. She landed hard against the stone ground on her left shoulder and cried out in pain before struggling to look back up at Wrock.

The Orc leader was furious, ordering his guards to release her before he attacked her with force and then approached her. "You insolent She-Elf! You had best watch your mouth or else I will make sure that your suffering becomes even more unforgiving." At that moment, he knelt down and grabbed Vanya by her throat and hoisted her up where they were face to face. "Now, I shall ask you this again….join us willingly and you will be unharmed or suffer until you have no choice but to join us. What shall it be, She-Elf?"

Struggling to breathe from his strong grip, Vanya knew there wasn't much she could do but realized she had enough air to speak. "I…refuse. I would never consider betraying the Peoples of Middle Earth to obey He who wanted to destroy everything. Do whatever you wish with me, but I would rather die than to give myself to the powers of darkness!"

Upon hearing her refusal, Wrock grew more furious but then smirked and let out the most sinister chuckle yet. "You will regret this, my dear. Now, let's see how much you can hold out when we're through with you and see if you still feel the same way." With that, he started dragging her towards the torture devices that were across the vast chamber preparing to make her suffer for such insolence. At one point he looked over at the Warg pit and thought that if the torture devices wouldn't change her mind then they would. He then shifted his hold on her as he took his right arm across her waist and his left over her throat and continued onward.

Vanya struggled with all her strength but found it was no use as Wrock's grip on her was too powerful and felt the helplessness. She did not know whether or not he was going to feed her to the Wargs or continue onward to the devices. However, all the noise from both Races echoing through the room made her feel dizzy and her courage falter slightly. She could think of nothing but pray for Smaug to come and free her from that terrible place when suddenly…

 ***ROAR***

The chamber went silent and every Orc stopped what they were doing and stared in the direction where it came from. The roar was so loud and powerful that it shook the walls within to where some rocks fell off them from high up. That's when they all realized that it came from behind a large, collapsed wall on the most northern part. While whatever roared came from the other side, no one had any clue as to what massive beast could have been there. Then, the nerve-wracking sounds of massive claws scraping could be heard against the rock and another loud roar could be heard during. As everyone, including a frozen Wrock and Vanya, watched in nervousness, they saw some of the rocks at the top beginning to shift. Then, the sound of intense firebreath could be heard and they saw that the rock wall began to change color to that of an orange hue and pieces of the rocks began to melt away.

At that moment, Wrock called out something in Black Speech while he moved his right hand off of Vanya and reached over to pull out his own sword. He faced his soldiers while holding out his blade and still gripped onto the Elvish Princess tightly at her throat. "Draw your weapons, prepare for battle and get on it you bunch of sniveling cowards," he commanded in Black Speech. He watched as his soldiers reluctantly obeyed and prepared their bows and swords scattering about with the archers at higher ground and the sword wielders on the main level. Those Orcs positioned themselves at least 50 feet away from the rock wall preparing to overwhelm whatever came through armed with their shields and swords. They did not know what was waiting behind the stone wall, but were prepared to fight regardless so they waited. As they did, the sounds of claws scraping and fire breath continued for a few moments more until they suddenly faded. A moment later, the loud deafening sound of a thunderclap slammed into the wall and shook more of the larger boulders clear off sending them flying in various directions. Another terrible roar could be heard followed by another great thunderclap on the rocks causing more rocks to drop around the Orcs. They scattered to avoid the boulders but then quickly repositioned themselves ready to strike whatever came inside. However, after one last thunderclap, the stone wall finally collapsed causing a massive dust cloud to hover around the hole. All of a sudden, a powerful stream of fire came bursting through it into the room incinerating the first few rows of Orcs as they shrieked in agony before falling.

Wrock snarled as he held tight to his captive furious as to what beast had killed his first five rows of soldiers. "What is going on here," he yelled angrily in Black Speech as he watched the events unfolding from where he and the Elvish Princess stood. As he watched, Wrock shifted his grip to where his arm was pressed up against her throat but still kept his strong grip.

While she was gripped helplessly by Wrock and watching what was happening, Vanya's heart beat quickly and she grew hopeful. 'That roar…those flames….could it be?' Her answer came lumbering in as a massive figure, eyes burning with rage, came in with teeth bared and massive claws scraping across the stone floor. Vanya's eyes grew wide with both surprise and relief while a small gasp escaped her, and then her eyes filled up with tears. 'My prayer to the Valar…..it was answered. I can't believe it!' She then said softly to herself even though both in her mind and in her heart she spoke the words loudly: "Lord Smaug, you came!"

It was indeed…..Smaug the Golden, the Great Fire Drake of the Withered Heath, who had arrived at that moment. His eyes and inner furnace burned with rage, and he stood tall intimidating all who stood inside waiting to fight. He growled low as he looked about the chamber and observed hundreds of Orcs waiting with their weapons but noticed something amusing. While they all remained in their positions, besides their usual foul stench he could pick up their fear and took three steps forward chuckling. "How amusing. Do any of you filthy creatures actually think that you can do any harm to ME? Your pitiful weapons will not pierce my armor, though you are more than welcome to try your futile attempts. You will all indeed suffer a fiery death by the likes you've never seen," he then turned his fierce gaze to the South towards Wrock, "and then I shall deal with YOU." As he stared at the Orc, he knew that it was the leader and saw that he held Vanya captive in his wretched hands. Before taking another step further towards them, a loud shriek came from above as one of the Orc archers fired a shot towards Smaug's head but was deflected. This drew his attention as he quickly turned to face the one who shot at him and before long the chamber filled with the sounds of shrieks and battle cries. He let out a terrible roar and soon the battle between the Dragon and the Orcs began though it wasn't much of a fight for him.

The Orcs on the ground began to charge at him as the archers shot arrow after arrow to pierce Smaug's armor or distract him from the ones below. Half of the sword wielding Orcs boldly leaped onto his wings and tried to stab into them as well as his tail and chest. But it was to no avail, and the Dragon turned to face his attackers with ferocity preparing his own counterattacks. He launched his flames down upon the archers among the wall beside him killing them instantly before whipping his tail forward to send the ground Orcs flying. He then raised up his wings quickly and slammed those who tried to stab them through into the rock walls hard before stomping down upon them. He unleashed his flame again to make sure those who were sent flying off of him were incinerated before focusing on the others. With every new wave that came at him, the Fire Drake shifted his attacks tail whipping as many as he could before swiping at others with his claws. For those who were able to leap up onto him, Smaug turned and snatched them with his teeth hard biting through their sad excuse of armor. Once he had them in his jaws, he swung around and flung their bloody bodies across the room and continued on attacking. He then shifted his focus on the other archers who continued to bombard him with arrows trying to strike at his head and neck. Turning to face them, he launched another powerful stream of fire upon them, which melted the bridges beneath and killing them off. This continued on for several minutes, though it seemed that the battle was one-sided favoring Smaug as the victor.

Wrock watched in fury all the while yelling at his forces to keep attacking but saw that neither their bows nor their swords were doing the job. He looked to his two guards and gave them both a command in Black Speech and sent them away on an important task. Once they were out of sight, he returned his focus on the battle as more and more of his troops were being decimated.

Smaug continued his assault advancing further and further into the chamber swatting away Orcs with his tail from behind or his clawed forelimbs in the front. Some he grabbed with either his jaws or his claws crushing them before sending them into the stone walls to their deaths. He let out fierce and wall-shaking roars as he continued on with the fight, never once slowing down until at last he realized that over 200 Orcs perished from his sheer power. At last, there was a break in the fight as the remaining Orcs retreated back close to their leader gripping onto their weapons. Smaug used this as an opportunity to send more fear into the hearts of these wretches as he let out a deep growl turning to face Wrock once more. "Do you understand now, FILTH? It is useless to try and defeat me when nothing you do can pierce my armor. But," he said as he reared up his head with both his eyes and inner furnace burning even more intensely, "do you fools still wish to challenge ME?" With that, he unleashed the most intense stream of fire yet as he created a large wall of fire across the room before him. He stood with his head hung high over the flames causing him to appear more demon-like intimidating the Orcs greatly.

The Orcs stood there feeling fear until they were screamed at by Wrock who told them, "Stop acting like cowards! Go and destroy that wretched beast NOW!" His forces hesitated for a moment, but then looked at the Dragon and gave out terrible shrieks charging forward through the firewall to launch another wave of attack. Wrock was furious as how Smaug was destroying his troops left and right as if they were nothing and turned to face those who retreated back behind him. He glared at them but his anger was focused on he who was destroying them and he decided on a different tactic that he was confident enough to think it would work. "All but 50 of you swarm him and try to overwhelm him, but if you can't do that then keep him distracted long enough. Backup will soon be upon us and hopefully," he told them in Black Speech giving them all a wicked smirk, "that will be the end of this creature once and for all." His troops did as they were told and quickly implemented the plan and soon all but 50 of the Orcs were climbing all over and stabbing at the Dragon.

Hearing the horrible shrieks of the Orcs and the fierce roars of Smaug as their battle raged on, Vanya could only watch in fear. She did not know if they would succeed in harming her Lord, but she did not dare lose faith that he would be victorious. She struggled to break free from Wrock's grip hoping to join Smaug in his battle but the strength of the Orc was too great. "Lord Smaug, I know you can beat them! Show them that you can't be defeated," she cried out before wincing in pain from her shoulder being gripped tightly by Wrock.

"Silence, you Elvish wench!"

But Vanya would not back down as she struggled to endure the excruciating pain and glared at the Orc leader. "No, I shall not. I warned you…Lord Smaug would come seeking his vengeance on you for what you have done. Now, you can only watch as he destroys your wretched soldiers. It's all over for you and your pack…..you Orc scum!" But, she suddenly found herself having trouble breathing as she felt his arm squeeze tightly against her throat and stood there gasping for breath.

"I said be silent, you Elvish wench!" Wrock snarled at her before turning his gaze to his 50 soldiers and yelled at them in Black Speech to form up. Soon, he watched as all his sword wielders stood within the first three rows of 10 while his remaining archers stood behind them ready to fire. He knew that this would be his last lines of defense until his reinforcements arrived and was sure that his troops could hold off the Dragon. But, he was soon proven wrong as he turned to watch his other 250 soldiers going after Smaug but saw that they were no match and that angered him.

The Fire Drake continued his attack but could start to feel every blade clash against his armor on his chest, neck, back and underbelly. In order to remove them, he swung his tail backwards hard swiping away the Orcs as he let out a fearsome roar. He then shook his mighty neck this way and that sending those who were attacking there flying into the walls nearby. But the Orcs who had been attacking his underbelly suddenly leaped up onto his back hoping to pierce him so Smaug rose his massive body up and slammed hard into the wall. This crushed them and caused both the walls of the room and the ground to shake making the attackers lose their balance. Before they had a chance to recover, he reared back his head and unleashed another stream of fire finishing them all off. The chamber then filled up with the smell of smoke and burning flesh as he turned to face Wrock growling deeply. He took just about five steps further before he stopped while his eyes and his inner furnace continued to glow brightly. "What will you do now, ORC FILTH? Those pitiful soldiers of yours are no more, and these weak last lines of defense will do you no good. Prepare to burn," he began to threaten until he heard the Orc leader laugh loudly causing the Dragon to grow even more furious.

"Go ahead and try Wyrm! After all," Wrock smirked as he pulled Vanya closer to shield himself, "it's not like SHE means anything to you, right?"

Vanya continued to struggle but she couldn't believe that he would be coward enough to use her to protect himself. She looked up at Smaug and saw he was still furious but unwilling to do any harm to her while Wrock held her close. 'Lord Smaug….,' she thought solemnly as she looked up at him with pleading eyes for a moment before looking down.

Smaug looked down at the sight hissing and growling as he stood there thinking about his next move and Wrock's. He could roast them all then and there, but while he did not want to admit it….he did not want to risk Vanya's life. He could see that she was bound by the ropes that prevented her from wielding fire to protect herself along with something else. He could see and smell the deep wound on her shoulder from where she was struck with the arrow and continued to bear his fangs at Wrock. "Tell me Orc…was it you who drew the She-Elf's blood in MY mountain with your filthy arrow," he asked in demand.

Wrock was surprised by the Dragon's question but found it amusing as he continued to hold Vanya in front of him. "I was not, but I gave the order to have her shot with our paralyzing poisoned arrow to make her easier to capture. However, why bother asking me such a trivial question…..unless you actually CARE for this wretched Elf? Now, wouldn't that just be pathetic…..that a big, powerful Dragon like yourself would have such a weakness like showing compassion for another." He then laughed in bliss thinking that he had finally found a way to keep his massive opponent at his mercy which pleased him.

Vanya gasped softly realizing that she had to do something to help Smaug before Wrock had a chance to harm him. She knew that he would say something regarding him not caring for her at all, but somewhere deep inside her she felt that wasn't true. So, just before Smaug had a chance to respond she blurted out, "What makes you think that he cares about me? I've already told you that he had come to seek his revenge against those who had invaded HIS mountain and would stop at nothing to achieve that. Whether or not he would also come to rescue me is not important but," she said as she gave a serious look to Smaug, "I will not tolerate you insulting him!" Without warning, she whipped her head back as fast as she could and bashed her head straight into Wrock's face. As he let out a loud painful yell, she saw that he released his grip on her through it all and saw that as her opening. She jumped up close to where Wrock held up his sword cutting her bonds before she leaped away from him and the rest of the Orcs on the left. "My Lord…now's your chance," she cried as she landed on the stone floor.

The Fire Drake did not waste any time as he waited for her to get out of the way before roasting the remaining Orcs. There was no time for them to respond and let out terrible shrieks of pain before falling to the mighty Dragon's flames. There was little movement, and both Smaug and Vanya looked to one another thinking that their battle was finally over. Suddenly, there was the sounds of heavy footsteps and terrible howls hurrying towards them and they both turned to see where it had come from. Then, from out of a darkened tunnel in the westernmost side, came a large pack of Wargs came charging full speed at Smaug. All 50 of them, snarling and snapping their jaws, began their assault upon him launching up to claw at bite at his body. The overwhelming numbers almost knocked Smaug off of his feet, but he stayed strong roaring loudly in anger as he stood his ground. 'So, that wretched Orc had these beasts on standby, did he? Well,' he thought as opened up his wings wide and let out a fierce roar, 'let's see if they provide a better challenge!' With that, he launched his flames upon the Wargs, but saw that they were more agile than the Orcs were and dodged it before attacking again. Their sheer numbers and greater power forced Smaug to back up and move away from Vanya as the beasts attacked the Fire Drake. All the while, with swipes of claws and intense fire breath, Smaug continued with his own counterattacks back wanting to destroy them.

Vanya watched on the sidelines as she was both relieved that the Wargs didn't target her but worried for Smaug and wanted to help him. "Lord Smaug, I'm coming," she called out as she struggled slowly back on her feet when she realized something that gave her hope. "Wrock's paralyzing poison…..it's really weakening. Now if I can only get to my mother's sword…," but the sound of a menacing chuckle interrupted her and she quickly turned around. To her shock, she saw Wrock emerging from beyond the smoke coming out of his fallen soldiers' bodies still holding his blade in his right hand. "No…..it can't be. How did you survive my Lord's flames?"

Wrock approached her with a furious yet menacing smirk as he took a glance at his fellow dead Orcs before staring back at her. "I did the same thing you did…..and now I'm going to take MY vengeance upon you," he said as he pointed his sword straight at her. He then wiped the blood coming from his nose and mouth from her escape and prepared to charge at her. "It's time for you to suffer, my dear!"

Vanya stood tall, but nervously tried to think of how she would be able to fight him without any weapons. Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she saw bits of Smaug's flame coming in her direction and knew what she had to do. Quickly, she activated her Dragon Sight once more and held up both her hands to draw the fire towards her and glared at Wrock. "The only one who will be suffering is YOU," she snapped as she held her arms out wide with the fire hovering over each hand.

Wrock took a step back, stunned by witnessing her flame-wielding powers once more but gripped tightly to his sword. "What?! How…How are you finding the strength to command the fire through my paralyzing poison? That's impossible!"

Vanya took a step forward as she concentrated hard and before Wrock's eyes saw how the flames grew until it wrapped around her body. It suddenly took on the form of a dragon around her like it was a suit of armor complete with tail and wings. Her eyes showed no fear, and it was as if the flames provided her with extra strength which she intended to use. "I told you before Wrock," she said calmly yet fiercely, "about how my mother and I are direct descendants of the Valar. It is through them that I have this strong heart and desire to fight against the darkness, and it is through my training with Lord Smaug that I have this control over these powers. You do not stand a chance against me," she told him shifting into a battle position, "like your foolish soldiers had none against my Lord. Now, prepare to suffer MY vengeance for my mother's death as I shall reclaim her sword once you draw your last breath!"

Wrock chuckled as he held up his sword high preparing to fight smirking, "Come and take it if you can," before the two of them charged at one another with fierce yells.

Two battles took place at that moment in Gundabad, both full of vengeance as the Dragon and the Elvish Princess. Smaug continued to fight against the relentless Wargs who refused to give in while their master did heated battle against Vanya. Smaug would slash, set fire and tail whip at the Wargs while at the same time keep check on how the other battle was going. He couldn't help but feel impressed by how she was able to wield the flames as both armor and weapons like she did in his training chamber. As he continued his fight, Vanya swiped the flames against Wrock's blade which he would keep swinging them away as he advanced forward. But, with each sword attack she would dodge just like how she did when fighting against Smaug during training. After each dodge of the sword she would strike back with the flames, but Wrock was also evasive but refused to back down. The yells, roars and snarls from each battle echoed through the room like a haunting melody which no one wished to hear. Smaug was determined to finish his battle against the Wargs as swiftly as he could so that he would be able to finish off Wrock. However, amidst his battle he glanced over at the other to see how the She-Elf's battle was doing before focusing on his own. Vanya, on the other hand, put all of her training to good use as well as using her flaming armor as both defense and attack. When Wrock lunged at her, she would deflect him with the wings, twist around and then use her fire tail to try and burn him. After some time, it appeared that Wrock was finally on his last leg as one last swift kick knocked him hard to the ground.

Vanya, still in her flaming Dragon armor, approached the Orc leader wanting to end the fight once and for all. "It's all over, Wrock!"

"Think again wench," he replied as he quickly scooped up a handful of dirt and threw it into her face temporarily blinding her. While she was busy trying to clear her eyes groaning in pain, he took his chance to finally get the upper hand on her. Without hesitation, he leaped back up onto his feet quickly swiping his sword across her armor's back giving him a perfect opening to strike back at her. He moved swiftly, raised up his right leg and struck her stomach hard with his knee before swiping his sword again against her face.

Vanya gasped for breath hard and fell hard to the ground once she felt the swipe of the Orc leader's blade but that wasn't the end. Upon feeling those attacks, her flaming armor blew away and her Dragon Sight faded back into her normal eyesight. She lay there on the ground for a moment as the cut on her right cheek bled slowly before she struggled to get back onto her own feet. But, just as she rose to her knees she let out another pained grunt as she felt another powerful kick to her left side that sent her back to the ground another 3 feet away. She landed back hard against the ground on her stomach groaning and laid there motionless for a few moments. She struggled again to get back up just as she could hear the wicked laughter of her vicious opponent and heard him approaching.

Meanwhile, Smaug was close in finishing his battle as only about 5 Wargs still drew breath and the others dead and charred. The smell of their burning flesh and fur filled that area of the chamber, and he knew that his remaining opponents were weakened. He was about to finish them off when an agonizing scream caught his attention and he quickly turned to see what had happened. He found himself feeling surprised as he saw Vanya laying on the ground crying out in pain from Wrock pinning her down with his left foot. What made the Fire Drake even more furious was that the Orc leader was grinning wickedly as he twisted his blade's hilt around on her shoulder wound. "Vanya…..," he said softly but angrily before letting out a fierce roar and charging towards them plowing through the remaining Wargs.

Meanwhile, focused solely on tormenting Vanya, Wrock laughed gleefully as he continued to twist his sword on Vanya's shoulder. Her cries of pain and agony pleased him greatly as she gripped the ground tightly motionless and feeling helpless. "Does it hurt, She-Elf? I hope that it does," he told her as he continued for a few moments more, "because I am only giving you one last chance. Surrender to me and call off the Dragon and I just might spare your life, or continue to resist me and suffer the consequences. What is your answer?"

Vanya, gripped with pain and unable to raise herself back onto her feet, looked back up at Wrock and gritted her teeth. She knew that the paralyzing effects of the poison was weakening, but the battle wore her out terribly so she was unable to move much. Far worse, the weight of Wrock against her back and him twisting his sword hilt on her wound felt unbearable and did not know if she had any strength left. However, she knew that she did not want to surrender to him…..not if it meant betraying all that she held dear and wished to protect. "I….I already gave you…..my answer," she told him trying to endure the pain while glaring back at him, "Orc scum!"

Wrock was furious and snarled as he stepped down harder onto her back and pulled back his sword up to his eye level. "Foolish Elfling," he said glaring down upon his wounded captive knowing that he finally had no other choice. "You thought that you could destroy me with the very same Dragon powers that MY Dark Lord had cursed you with? I gave you a chance to live, but now," he said holding up his sword blade-down with both hands, "you have just sealed your fate. You shall rejoin your precious mother…in OBLIVION! PREPARE TO DIE, SHE-ELF!"

Vanya saw the raised up blade from the corner of her eye and thought that she was about to die then and there. She closed her eyes tightly and whimpered softly, preparing to feel the painful sting of the blade pierce through her. At that moment, visions of her life from the past flashed before her eyes and in them saw the smiling faces of her parents and people. 'Mother….I'm sorry that I failed to avenge your death…but we shall see each other again soon.'

Wrock smiled as he was about to plunge his sword through her back to end her life when suddenly he felt a tremendous force slam into him. He let out a loud painful cry as he flew into the air and crashed into the westernmost wall before landing on the stone floor. However, right after he was struck, the sword of Vanya's mother flew off of his back and onto the ground close to her still within its scabbard. At that moment, the two guards who left earlier arrived back into the chamber astride two other Wargs with a third running in with them. The Orcs quickly dismounted and ran to their fallen leader's side when they saw that Wrock was still alive yet injured but looking furious. Wrock turned back to where he stood with Vanya where he saw that it was Smaug who had struck him using his massive tail. The two locked eyes for what seemed like forever, furious at one another and both having the desire to destroy the other one.

Smaug saw this and knew that he did not want them to get away as the five remaining Wargs ran to join with the others. He let out a fierce roar as he charged at them with his inner furnace still burning intensely, until he stopped at the wall and prepared to deliver the final blow. Just as the Orcs grabbed their leader and threw himself atop the last Warg before mounting theirs quickly, the Dragon unleashed his fire upon them. The flames came quickly, and at the moment the Wargs fled back into the tunnel it caught up to them just as they disappeared within it. There were terrible shrieks of agony coming from both Orc and Warg before at last there was nothing left but the silence. Smaug snorted pleased as he believed at long last that their foes were no more while both his eyes and furnace softened. At that moment, he heard the sound of soft moaning and grunts and turned to see Vanya struggling to sit herself back up. He turned his massive body around and walked swiftly back to her until he got close then he stopped and lowered his head near hers.

Vanya, still in pain and disbelief, opened her eyes and witnessed Smaug's rescue and the defeat of their wretched enemies. She struggled to push herself off the ground but found it difficult due to the added pain from what Wrock did to her shoulder. She had only enough strength at that moment to rise to her knees holding herself up by her arms and looked up at her Dragon Lord. "Is…Is it truly over Lord Smaug," she asked weakly as she sat there before gripping tightly to her wounded shoulder.

"We will not be seeing that wretched Orc filth again," Smaug replied confidently before rising up his head to observe the chamber. The flames from before still burned but weakly while scattered around were the charred corpses of both Wargs and Orcs. "If they had survived and plan on returning," he said as he looked back down at Vanya, "then they will suffer the same fate as these fools. But, I must ask," he then lowered his head until they were eye to eye with each other, "how badly have they injured you?"

"Huh?" Vanya was stunned as she did not expect him to be concerned for her but thought it was best not to provoke him. "They did not show me much mercy but all that Orc planned was to keep me alive for some wicked purpose. However, if it hadn't been for you arriving when you did, I might have been in worse condition than what you see now. I feel ashamed that I was unable to do more damage to them before they injured me as much as they have. If it wasn't for that paralyzing poisoned arrow they shot with me, I would have had more than enough power to take on several of them. Hmm?" She suddenly got distracted by a sudden gleam of light that came off from her right in the direction of the western tunnel. She turned to see what it was and gasped softly for there was her mother's sword scabbard still in one piece and gleaming like a star. She gathered as much as her strength as she could rising slowly to her feet before walking over to where it laid. As she knelt down to lift it up with both hands, her eyes filled with tears and she let out an emotional sigh before she softly uttered, "My mother's sword."

"It appears that you have fulfilled the vow that you made for her and recovered that which you have lost," Smaug told her as he took two steps toward her.

"Yes," replied Vanya softly before turning to face him concerned, "but right now I'm concerned for your injuries. Those terrible Orcs and those Wargs have…."

"Have done little to injure me though any wounds they may have inflicted me with are small and need no concern. It is your injuries, I see, that will delay your training some once we leave this place and return back to my mountain.

"Yes please let us get out of here," Vanya replied as she quickly strapped her mother's sword and scabbard to her back. She attempted to stand up again but her battle injuries as well as the poison in her shoulder nearly knocked her back to the ground. Just as she began to fall, she felt something catch her and looked up to realize that Smaug had caught her with his right forelimb. She was then scooped up gently and was held there in front of his face as she looked down in embarrassment.

"Your injuries are much worse than mine, yet your spirit is still strong," he said with a smirk, "which is impressive to say the least. Come. I shall carry you back to the Withered Heath for it is too much for your weakened Elvish body at this time." With that, he arched his neck around to where he was able to place her at the back of his neck just above his shoulders. Once he felt she was secure where she was, he turned and began making his way out of the chamber past every dead Orc and Warg he had defeated. Their burning flesh and the smoke rising from their bodies almost became too much for the Elvish Princess, but not so for him as he continued past them. At last, they came to the broken wall where he had entered from but stopped as he turned his head to look upon the chamber one last time. His eyes glowed slightly irritated by the lingering smells of the Orcs and their wretched pets that hovered in the air within that place and he growled softly. He then turned and looked at Vanya, who fell silent as they walked through and saw that she looked deeply concerned. "Do not fear what had transpired here, for now it is over and we need not dwell upon this place once we leave it."

Vanya stared at the spot where Wrock had threatened her and told her those horrible truths, but pressed herself close to Smaug's neck. "Yes, my Lord. Please, let us leave this terrible place and return home…back to the Withered Heath and your mountain," she said softly pressing her head against his warm neck.

Smaug nodded before turning back to his open entrance with a serious glare. "Yes, let's."

The two walked out of the fortress and into an open clearing of cold stone before Smaug flapped his wings hard and was airborne. It was late evening when they exited Gundabad, and the stars attempted to shine their light behind the dark clouds. Still, the Dragon flew swiftly as they made their way back to the Withered Heath, though he kept making sure that Vanya was still resting on his back. Soon, Gundabad was far behind them and Smaug glanced back at his wounded and weary passenger with curiosity. "So tell me, now that you have reclaimed your weapon," he asked calmly, "what do you plan on doing once we return? Will you go out and fend for yourself seeking sustenance as I do?"

Vanya felt surprised by his inquiries and took a moment to look back at her mother's sword before answering him. "I can still live off of my rations for some time yes, though I suppose I will have to do some foraging once it depletes. I'm not sure where I will be able to find sustenance that I can handle while within the mountains but I'm not going to worry about that now. I do want to tend to our wounds once we return for I remember that I also brought some of my people's medicine that will do wonders. However," she then grew hesitant as she wanted to ask one very important question but was afraid to ask, "I'd just like to know something."

"What is it?"

Vanya took a deep breath and tried to prepare herself with whatever answer he would give her at that moment. "I would just like to know…did you come only to seek out vengeance against them for invading your mountain?"

Smaug stopped in midair hovering in place with his mighty wings to stay airborne as he looked back to her. "Yes. Those filthy creatures had left their foul stench all around my mountain and that was something I would not allow."

Vanya looked down on his neck and felt a bit disheartened for she somehow knew that would be her answer when she heard something truly unexpected.

"They had also stolen something of mine that I swore to protect while within my mountain that I would kill to have it returned to me."

The Elvish Princess looked back up at him stunned but then smiled warmly as she knew that she was right after all. Past all the greed and power lusts that Dragons were known for, Smaug had some sense of honor and did care somewhat about her. She held his neck tightly and rested her head against him feeling more assured and told him, "Let's go home, Lord Smaug."

Smaug looked back ahead with a smirk chuckling softly at her implying it was her home but then thought it might as well be. After all that he had went through, he amused himself into accepting that she had already accepted his mountain as her home as well. "Home it is, then." With that, he flapped his wings hard and launched forward once more flying as swiftly as before back to their mountain home. The two of them grew silent the rest of the flight while they enjoyed the crisp evening air and the gentle wind blowing past them. A few hours went by when they finally saw a familiar sight sticking up high in the darkness…..Smaug's mountain. They had returned which made both he and Vanya glad as they realized in that moment the peak became more majestic then it has ever been before. Smaug swooped down low through the valley until rising back up again against the rocky slope of his mountain before he hovered in mid-air momentarily. He then lowered himself down slowly until his back legs touched the ledge before he let the rest of his body down gently. He glanced back briefly to make sure that his passenger was still on and saw that she still held on as tightly as she could. He smirked, then faced forward moving into through the entrance tunnel back to the sleeping chamber feeling satisfied. The moment they entered, he sniffed the air and realized that the stench of the Orcs was beginning to fade away which pleased him greatly. He then continued to approach their sleeping areas around the still lit fire and lowered his body slowly. As he did, he arched his neck up high as he could before he raised up his left winged forelimb up close to Vanya. "Here, let me return you at last to your bed," he said softly to her, "which is the least I could do after all you had been through."

Vanya was surprised by his sudden act of generosity, but then she figured that he only was doing it out of the fact she was still weakened. Carefully, she climbed up onto his claw and held on as he lowered her back down to the ground just above her bed. She tried to slide off onto it but the moment she touched it she collapsed in a heap but looked back up at Smaug grateful. "Thank you my Lord. I feel so ashamed that I still feel this weak, but I suppose that I'm still feeling the effects of that paralyzing poison."

"Then rest up until you gain your strength back as I shall have to since I used up much power in that disgusting place."

"If I may ask…," Vanya asked as she slowly lowered herself onto her stomach crossing her arms and looking up at him curiously.

"Yes?"

Vanya took a deep breath and let of a soft sigh before she asked what had been on her mind since before their return. "Back in the fortress when I was struggling in my battle against that Orc leader, did you feel concerned for me…even just a little bit?"

Smaug grew silent for a moment surprised by her question, but then snorted as he lowered himself in his usual sleeping position. "Do you take me for some sympathetic fool," the Fire Drake hissed softly.

"No, I do not. It's just that…..when I was getting beaten down by the Orc I thought that I heard you call out my name sounding very concerned. But, perhaps all the pain was causing me to hear things so maybe you didn't. I just…..I could have sworn that you had…."

"Enough of that. Now rest, for we are back where we both belong and now our enemies are gone, never to bother us again," he said as he lowered his head down closing his eyes to sleep.

"Yes Lord Smaug…..," Vanya said as she lowered her head on her crossed arms before uttering softly, "and thank you for coming after me. She then closed her eyes feeling the fatigue fully at last and falling fast asleep, with her heart filled with hope and strength once more.

Smaug waited a few minutes before he opened one eye to spy on his now peaceful sleeping companion and smirked softly. His pride would keep him from uttering anything truly sympathetic and started to think that she was nothing but trouble. However, somewhere in his heart, he began to feel something warm that wasn't from his inner furnace which had him concerned. This feeling was one that he had never experienced before, but was not yet strong enough at that time to worry about. Still, the Fire Drake did not know whether or not that he wanted this different kind of warm feeling or knew what it was. However, as he continued to stare down at his sleeping She-Elf, he remembered something the Orc filth had asked while they were in Gundabad.

'Why bother asking me such a trivial question…..unless you actually CARE for this wretched Elf? Now, wouldn't that just be pathetic…..that a big, powerful Dragon like yourself would have such a weakness like showing compassion for another.'

Smaug raised up his head quietly and looked on seriously toward the tunnel leading to the entrance feeling irritated. 'This feeling…is that what this is? A feeling of COMPASSION….a feeling of caring about this She-Elf?' He looked back down at her sleeping form curiously before he lowered his head back onto the stone floor not once averting his gaze. 'She is certainly a troublesome Elf even with her intriguing powers…..but, I still feel glad that she is back within my grasp. Back…and safe,' he thought as he found himself smiling with genuine sincerity for the first time in his life. 'I guess….because of you, I never realized that my mountain feels more like home while you are still here.' He then moved his head closer to hers being silent enough so she would not awaken then closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep. "Sleep well…..Vanya," he whispered softly as his smile remained while he slept.

At that moment, the Dragon and the Elvish Princess slept peacefully within the mountain deserving it after their dangerous encounters at the Orc fortress. Both felt for sure that the dangers they endured while they sought vengeance was finally over and they could finally live life in peace. However, they would soon be proven wrong as the two of them would encounter a darkness more powerful than either of them could imagine. A darkness so powerful that it would put their growing bond to the ultimate test…..a test which would lead down the path to death and destruction. (Of course, you dear readers will know what soon enough in Part Two of: **The Dragon and the Elvish Princess**.)

 **End of Part 1: The Dragon and the Elvish Princess**


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